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January 19, 2005Nurses attempt to force representation voteSimilar decertification vote deniedByRecord-Eagle staff writer PETOSKEY - Maneuvering continues over whether Northern Michigan Hospital nurses - and those on strike from the hospital for more than two years - will get a vote on union representation. Teamsters Local 406 attorney Ted Iorio said union-supporting nurses are gathering signatures to force a representation vote. National Labor Relations Board regional director Stephen Glasser said such a vote would be virtually identical to one sought by striking nurse Dennis Johnson, who this month submitted petitions seeking an election on whether to decertify the Teamsters as the NMH nurses' representative. Johnson's vote attempt stalled after being challenged by hospital management, who say the union is already out. Hospital officials stopped recognizing the Teamsters in December after receiving a petition from working nurses in which a purported majority stated they no longer want the union. Neither striking nurses nor Teamsters officials have seen the December petition, Iorio said. "We don't buy that the union has lost majority status," he said. "The only way we'll buy into that is if a free and fair election is held." The uncertainty and potential cost and delay over Johnson's challenged petition prompted Teamsters-supporting nurses to seek another avenue, Iorio said. A representation vote could be set if at least 30 percent of NMH nurses sign petitions, Glasser said. Hospital management would be given an opportunity to challenge the election under labor law, he said.
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