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September 19, 2003Striking nurses file petition seeking union voteByRecord-Eagle staff writer PETOSKEY - A second petition has been filed with federal labor officials, seeking a vote on whether Teamsters Local 406 should continue to represent Northern Michigan Hospital nurses. And this one was filed by striking nurses. Striking nurse Dennis Johnson filed the petition with the National Labor Relations Board Wednesday. Nurses who did not strike some 10 months ago filed an earlier petition seeking a decertification vote. If either or both of the petitions contain the signatures of at least 30 percent of the approximately 470 members of the bargaining unit, an election can proceed, said Chet Byerly Jr., of the NLRB in Grand Rapids. Teamsters attorney Ted Iorio said several striking and working nurses had asked union officials in recent days whether an election could be stalled if the person who submitted the first petition withdrew it. Striking nurses grew suspicious when hospital president Tom Mroczkowski issued a five-page letter to working nurses Sept. 9, offering questions and answers about the decertification process. The letter states that nurses can avoid an election if they submit sufficient petition signatures to the hospital's human resources director, showing a majority of bargaining unit members no longer want the Teamsters to represent them. Byerly said an NLRB hearing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday in Petoskey. One potential sticking point is already apparent: whether mail-in ballots should be allowed. Non-striking nurses said such ballots were not allowed when nurses installed the Teamsters in October 2001, and shouldn't be allowed now. Iorio, however, said denying mail-in ballots would essentially deny striking nurses their right to vote. "We've got over 200 nurses working and living outside of Petoskey, in 15 different states and all over Michigan," he said. Byerly indicated the NLRB would support mail-in ballots. A vote on the union could occur by late October or early November, Byerly said.
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