St. Peter’s Health in Helena has terminated its contract with a third-party union consultant after a document containing sensitive personal information about nurses involved in an organizing effort was leaked.
The document includes things like disciplinary records, financial information and details on family members. Its discovery by staff has damaged the relationship between hospital employees and management, says Robin Haux, of the Montana Nurses Association.
"It was really, truly upsetting to the nurses. And it did definitely create some distrust."
The document was first reported by the Daily Montanan.
Haux says nurses at two clinics that are part of St. Peter’s Health outside of the main hospital building elected to hold a vote after administrators cut personal leave. Nurses in the main hospital building are represented by the MNA and were shielded from the cuts by their collective bargaining agreement.
"These clinic nurses simply want what the nurses across the street have. And they just want to protect their benefits and have a voice in the workplace."
After nurses elected to hold the union vote, St. Peters hired a Florida-based consultant named Niles Commer. The hospital calls Commer a “labor education consultant”, the Nurses Association calls him a “union buster”.
St. Peter’s Health declined to address a question from MTPR on whether hospital administrators helped Commer compile the sensitive information, but Haux said it’s unlikely the consultant gathered so much information in such a short time without help from hospital administrators.
In a written statement, a spokesperson for St. Peter’s Health said they are no longer working with Commer or any other third party consultants. They added this incident was “inconsistent with [their] values” and that the hospital is conducting an internal investigation.
Watchdog group LaborLab has filed a complaint against Commer with the US Department of Labor, alleging he has failed to disclose financial earnings since at least 2019.
The clinic nurses at St. Peter’s will hold their vote on whether to join the Montana Nurses Association on October 17th.
