Workers at nonprofit Columbia River Mental Health Services (CRMHS) will lose their jobs after the Cowlitz Indian Tribe takes over its operations in October. They’ll have a chance to apply for new jobs — doing the same work at the same sites. But the tribe may not recognize their union, Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 11.
OPEIU Local 11 represents around 90 CRMHS workers, including therapists, case workers, and nurses who provide mental health and opioid addiction treatment in Southwest Washington.
Employees learned July 10 that CRMHS agreed to have the tribe take over its operations and purchase its assets. Its services would continue under the tribe’s Health and Human Services Department.
Workers and union leaders were blindsided by the announcement.
In a July 10 memo to employees, CRMHS and the tribe explained their plans in a question-and-answer format with questions like, “Will I still be in a union?”
Answer: “As a sovereign nation, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe is not affiliated with a collective bargaining organization.”
That non-answer shocked workers and union leaders.
Asked by the Labor Press if it would recognize OPEIU as the workers’ union, the tribe did not give a yes-or-no answer. The tribe said in an emailed statement that it’s a sovereign government led by an elected tribal council. “As part of that structure, key decisions are made through formal processes during Tribal Council meetings. While planning is underway following the Letter of Intent with Columbia River Mental Health Services, many aspects of the changeover are being evaluated and will be guided by ongoing deliberations and due diligence,” the tribe said.
Union rights at tribal enterprises haven’t been considered a settled matter under federal labor law. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has asserted that workers at commercial enterprises that are owned and operated by tribes still have a federally-protected right to unionize under the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA), even if that work takes place on tribal land. But they don’t have union rights at “tribal enterprises that carry out traditional tribal or governmental functions.” In disputes between tribes and the NLRB or labor unions as to whether tribes as employers are subject to the NLRA, federal courts have ruled in both directions. If the Cowlitz tribe tries to assert that it doesn’t have to abide by the National Labor Relations Act, it could be setting itself up for a legal fight.
The Cowlitz Indian Tribe has had positive relations with unions in the past, including when it signed a project labor agreement in 2005 for the construction of the Ilani casino.
The July 10 memo says current CRMHS employees are welcome to apply for jobs with Cowlitz Health and Human Services Department.
Shelley McBeath, a CRMHS case manager for nearly 10 years, said she attended a job fair the tribe hosted for current CRMHS workers, but left disappointed and despondent.
“I expected to go there and be told, ‘Hey, welcome to the team.’ But it wasn’t like that,” McBeath said. McBeath said the tribe hasn’t listed openings for case managers.
In the memo to employees, CRMHS said it would not offer any severance.
Meeting with management July 24, Local 11 proposed that CRMHS offer severance pay based on tenure and a retention incentive for employees who commit to staying on through Oct. 1.
Local 11 also requested a meeting with the tribe but had not heard back as of press time.
CRMHS workers joined Local 11 in 2014 after having been represented by AFSCME.
CRMHS has struggled financially in the past year, even furloughing most workers for more than a month earlier this spring. The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation provided $1.6 million in emergency funding to CRMHS in April and the tribe said it’s committed to providing operational funding throughout the transition period.
Cowlitz said current clients will be able to continue receiving services under the tribe’s health and human services department, which provides medical and addiction and mental health services to both Native and non-Native clients.
McBeath said she thinks Cowlitz can do a great job managing CRMHS’s operations, but she’s concerned about how the transition will affect clients who need support and consistency.
“I feel good that Cowlitz stepped in. I feel anxious that I don’t know what it looks like. I’m very concerned about the clients. If I’m feeling this way, how are the clients feeling?”
