Physicians, nurse practitioners and physician's assistants at Logan Health primary care clinics are voting to unionize this week with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists.  

The National Labor Relations Board reviewed the petition, which was signed by 60 Logan Health primary care providers in December, and set on-site election dates for Jan. 14 and 15, according to Vivi Le, Communications Manager for the Union.  

Le said election results will be available Jan. 15, but it will take about a week for the National Labor Relations Board to certify the results, barring any objections from the employer.  

Providers behind the unionization efforts listed understaffing as their biggest concern — which ties into appointment availability, patient wait times and the ability to provide comprehensive primary care services, according to the union’s December announcement.  

The election comes after a community town hall regarding primary care access at Logan Health, which was hosted by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists on Jan. 3 at the Northwest Montana History Museum. Le said there were about 80 people in attendance, including patients and former employees of Logan Health. 

There was discussion about difficulties scheduling appointments and getting referrals for specialists. Toward the end of the meeting, Le said people threw out ideas on how to advocate for patients going forward.  

“There were some thoughts about starting a patient advocacy group or a patient board of directors, or if it's possible for Logan to have a board comprised of just patients,” Le said. “One of the ideas was that they would like to see the board of directors at Logan sit down once a month with patients for an open forum to discuss their care and what can be done to resolve any issues that come up.”  

In addition to the town hall, Logan Health nurses who are members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW wrote a letter in support of their coworkers’ recent efforts to unionize last week. 

In the letter, the nurses emphasized that the “providers’ ability to organize and advocate for fair working conditions is directly tied to the quality and safety of patient care across the Flathead Valley.” 

“These dedicated professionals are the backbone of our health care system,” the nurses wrote. “Their ability to advocate for fair working conditions directly impacts the quality of care every patient receives.” 

Taylor Inman may be reached at 758-4440 or [email protected].