The possibility of a nurse’s union forming at Kalispell Regional Healthcare is coming to a tipping point as employees gear up to cast their votes on the matter during a two-day union election slated for July 11-12— a fast-approaching resolution hospital officials say could signal an end to the hospital’s independence, should they vote in favor of the union.
A group of nurses hand-delivered a note to the hospital’s chief executive officer, Craig Lambrecht, on June 13, announcing a petition had been filed for union recognition with the National Labor Relations Board and that Service Employees International Union 1199NW is the union that will be representing the nurses. The letter came from a group known as the KRH Organizing Committee, and according to a press release from the union, support for unionizing is widespread.