Pictured is Duke LifePoint’s UP Health System-Marquette, a for-profit hospital, that is facing several accusations from the Michigan Nurses Association regarding alleged unfair labor practices. (Journal photo by Ryan Jarvi)

MARQUETTE — Though several issues brought forward were dismissed, the National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Duke LifePoint on Monday pertaining to unfair labor practice charges filed by the Michigan Nurses Association.

The complaint alleges that UP Health System-Marquette, a Duke LifePoint subsidiary, violated the National Labor Relations Act and “has been interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees.”

A hearing will be conducted before an administrative law judge of the NLRB for hospital officials and MNA representatives on July 24 at the federal courthouse in Marquette, unless a settlement is reached sooner. Each party will have the right to appear and present testimonies regarding allegations in the complaint. Parties may also be represented by an attorney.

According to a Wednesday press release issued by the MNA, Marquette nurses experienced illegal threats and intimidation from supervisors for participating in a two-day strike last year to call for safe staffing levels at the hospital.

“This type of retaliation for union activity is expressly prohibited in federal labor law and undermines efforts by nurses to achieve a fair contract with staffing standards that protect patient care,” the release states.

Following the two-day strike in October where hundreds of people marched along the block of College Avenue in Marquette, nurses and hospital officials have continued to negotiate a contract, but an agreement has yet to be reached. Nurses have been working without a contract since July 28, following the conclusion of a two-month contract extension the parties agreed to in late May.

Victor Harrington, UPHS-Marquette’s regional director of marketing and business development, said the charges brought to the NLRB came as no surprise since unions routinely take action following a strike.

“We were gratified to recently learn that the NLRB has found no merit to at least nine of the 12 charges filed by the union,” Harrington said in a prepared statement. “With respect to the remaining three allegations on which the NLRB has formalized a complaint, it is important to note that the complaint and notice of hearing is not a determination. UPHS-Marquette looks forward to the opportunity to fully present its evidence during an NLRB hearing.”

The remaining allegations at issue, Harrington said, “are related, essentially, to two independent conversations between managers and staff on the eve of the strike, and a job performance evaluation issued to a single employee approximately one month later.”

After reviewing the facts available, UPHS-Marquette officials said they do not believe any wrongdoing occurred in those instances. “Accordingly, we will vigorously defend the managers in question and the hospital in this NLRB proceeding,” Harrington said.

According to a press release issued by the MNA, UPHS-Marquette nurses continue to fight for safe staffing levels at the hospital through union negotiations and take every opportunity to draw public attention to their patient safety concerns.

The MNA is currently running radio advertisements in both Marquette and Durham, North Carolina, in an attempt to highlight Duke University’s responsibility for conditions at the hospital. The ads began during the March Madness college basketball tournament.

“The real ‘madness’ is the 16-hour shifts that Marquette nurses are routinely expected to work,” Scott Balko, operating room registered nurse and president of the UPHS-Marquette RN Staff Council/MNA, said in a press release issued Friday. “We are running ads, both in Marquette and in North Carolina, because the people affiliated with Duke University should be aware that their good name is being tarnished by unsafe RN staffing practices in Michigan. Understaffing puts patients in danger. We call on Duke University and their partners at LifePoint to negotiate a fair contract that guarantees safe nurse staffing to protect our community.”

Harrington said people should feel “rest assured that UPHS-Marquette continues to work in good faith at the bargaining table in an effort to reach a mutually acceptable labor agreement with the MNA.”