February, 2023
WE HAVE AN ELECTION DATE!
Our electon will be a mail ballot electon. Our ballots will be mailed out on February 23rd.
They will be due back to the NLRB office by March 23rd by 3:00 pm.
Due date to request a replacement ballot is March 9th. Call the National Labor Relations Board at 503-326-3085.
A couple of things to remember:
- You need to put a stamp on your envelope.
- Do not mark your ballot in any way besides indicating your vote.
The ballots are due back to the NLRB office in Portland by 3/23/23 ar 3pm, NOT postmarked!
As always, please reach out with questions!
Septmber 14, 2022
NLRB Hearing Proceedings Complete!
We are finally done with the hearing proceedings! We are excited to reach this milestone and be one major step closer to our election.
Today, we met for the fourth day of our NLRB hearing. As expected, St. Charles’ administration spent the day calling multiple witnesses and tirelessly interviewing them. This is a delay tactic. They want to bog the NLRB down with many pages of testimony and evidence in order to try to delay the timeline and convolute the issue around who are eligible union members. Today alone, there were roughly 220 pages of testimony - we estimate 800 to 1,000 pages throughout all of the hearing days.
Central Oregon Providers Network’s stance has stayed the same since the beginning. We want and believe everyone should be able to be represented. We believe in a democratic right to have everyone's voice heard. This is why we keep advocating for the most inclusive unit and quickest vote possible. In fact, today we agreed to expedite our timeline in order to get a quicker election date.
August 1, 2022
St. Charles Medical Center Doctors and Other Providers Re-file Petition with NLRB for Union Recognition
BEND, Ore.—The Central Oregon Providers Network, representing about 300 St. Charles Medical Group physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other healthcare workers re-filed their petition today with the National Labor Relations Board for union representation, a re-do after hospital management stalled the process with unsubstantiated accusations.
The healthcare workers initially filed their petition on June 3, but St. Charles management alleged that some of the campaign’s original organizing team leaders were supervisors. The union disagreed but chose to re-start the process with a new card collection. The new petition for a union, like the previous one, would include all 300 providers.
“As providers, we know what services, staff and locations are needed to help our patients have equal access to healthcare services. Instead of listening to our concerns and ideas to improve the financial situation but not worsen patient care, hospital administrators laid off crucial staff. We need a union to participate in patient-care decisions,” said Debbie Rief-Adams, a St. Charles nurse practitioner. “Unfortunately, the hospital is throwing petty roadblocks in our way with the help of one of the country’s most expensive law firms—all during a financial crisis. When the administration makes it more difficult to take care of our patients, we will make our voices louder.”
July 12, 2022
Central Oregon Providers Network on Resignation of St. Charles Health System President and CEO
Bend, Ore.—The following is a statement from the Central Oregon Providers Network, which represents 300 St. Charles Medical Center physicians and other advanced-practice providers who have filed for union representation, on the resignation of St. Charles’ President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Sluka:
“The Central Oregon Providers Network will work respectfully with whomever is leading St. Charles Medical Center. It is our fervent wish to have a collaborative relationship that includes the right to unionize and have a voice in patient care.
“St. Charles management has asked the National Labor Relations Board to dismiss COPN’s petition for a secret ballot election. We hope this position will change under a new president and CEO and will give COPN the right to hold this legitimate election.”
July 8, 2022
We wanted to provide everyone with an update on the current state of our organizing efforts. The NLRB has postponed the hearing indefinitely because of accusations from St Charles in their response position paper to our petition. In their response, they made accusations of management persuasion. We are working with representatives from the NLRB to provide clarity to our circumstances and our position for collective bargaining. This is just another attempt from the St Charles Administration to hinder our ability to have a collective voice in the workplace. We will get past this bump and push forward so that we all have a voice in our workplace.