Hundreds of Logan Health nurses just concluded a three-day unfair labor practices strike. It was inspiring to see both the commitment of the nurses who are working toward competitive wages, improved transparency, and more secure staffing. It was also reassuring to hear and feel the support of the Flathead Valley community. Like so many things in our valley, the nursing strike at Logan has garnered strong opinions and some vitriol. As a critical care RN at Logan, I wanted to share a few things with the larger community:
Logan Health nurses are caring, thoughtful, and hard-working individuals who care deeply for patients and the community at large.
Throughout the pandemic, nurses worked selflessly to care for patients under uncertain and sometimes under-resourced circumstances.
Given persistent staffing shortages, nurses in certain units are asked regularly to work additional shifts or take on additional patients, resulting in fatigue, burnout, and sometimes less-than-ideal patient care.
The union proposal for a transparent, experience-based step wage scale at Logan would bring nursing salaries in line with the regional hospitals St. Patrick’s, Bozeman Health, Billings Clinic and St. Peter’s.
The current salary proposal put forth by Logan improves on the current situation but falls well below comparable hospitals noted above.
Community Hospital of Anaconda has the highest nursing salaries in the state. If a small, critical access hospital can prioritize and elevate nursing salaries, surely one of the largest regional medical centers can as well.
Logan Health spends hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to train new nurses, however the disparity in pay coupled with the rapidly increasing cost of living in the Flathead means that many nurses cannot afford to stay and often seek out opportunities with better salary and benefits.
While I recognize and respect the differences in our community and the reluctance some have to support union organizations, I have come to believe this is the only way we will have a sustainable, experienced, and satisfied nursing workforce in our valley. To that end, please consider supporting the nurses of Logan Health by urging the board and administrators to bargain in good faith for regionally competitive, transparent, and sustainable compensation.
Erica Lengacher
Whitefish