OPEIU Local 11 working to save union jobs

The union is seeking collaboration with the Cowlitz Tribe after the purchase of Columbia River Mental Health in Vancouver

The following is from OPEIU Local 11:

VANCOUVER, WA (July 16, 2025) — Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 11 on Monday, July 14, sent an official letter asking to bargain the effects of a planned management change at Columbia River Mental Health Services in Vancouver. Union leaders say the organization wants to preserve as many union jobs at the facility as possible during this transition.

“We know what’s good for workers is good for patients,” said OPEIU Local 11 Union Representative Cheyenne Russell. “We represent about 90 employees at the facility, including the nurses, counselors, therapists, medical assistants, and substance use disorder professionals. These medical staff directly support people coming in for treatment, and they have earned the trust of patients, who deserve to have continuity with the professionals who are supporting their recoveries.”

The union learned about the deal only after employees were pulled into a staff meeting last week, where Columbia River management and the Cowlitz Tribe announced the Letter of Intent they signed to transition the facilities to tribal ownership. Employees were told they would all lose their jobs on October 1 and must reapply if they’d like to continue working at the facility. There’s been no promise that employees will be automatically rehired.

Workers were also told there will be no severance packages offered, even if they are not rehired.

Russell said OPEIU Local 11 was completely blindsided by the news because neither Columbia River Mental Health nor the Cowlitz Tribal Council had approached the union to discuss the purchase. Under federal labor law, an employer has an obligation to notify unions of any transfer of ownership, and to bargain the effects of that sale on workers’ jobs.

“Our members – some of whom have worked at Columbia River for more than a decade – are worried they will not get their jobs back, or that they will lose their seniority and the benefits it provides. We know it’s our right as a union to negotiate the effects of managerial changes like this for our members, and that is what we intend to do.”

The tribe indicated its intent to dissolve the union, stating in a memo to workers that the tribe is a sovereign nation “not affiliated with a collective bargaining organization.” Although there is little definitive legal guidance on whether general federal statutes apply to Native nations, OPEIU Local 11 Executive Secretary Treasurer Howard Bell believes the union and tribe can work together to build a working relationship that benefits both parties.

On Monday, OPEIU Local 11 contacted the Cowlitz Tribe asking to arrange a meeting to discuss the leadership transition. Bell, the top elected officer of OPEIU Local 11, said he’s optimistic the union and tribe can ensure a smooth transition that honors the union contract and does not harm workers or patients.

“OPEIU Local 11 is an affiliate of the Columbia-Pacific Building Trades Council, which signed a project labor agreement that guaranteed the use of local union contractors and workers for the construction of the ilani Casino. At the time, Tribal Chairman John Barnett told the Vancouver Business Journal he was an ‘old union man’ himself, and that the 700 tribal members in the region are strong union supporters,” Bell said. “We hope this indicates that the tribe’s commitment to working positively with organized labor – whether a union recognized under federal law or simply workers acting collectively for their common good – will continue now.”

OPEIU Local 11 represents 2,000 office, professional, technical and industrial workers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah. Learn more at opeiu11.org.