As the health system geared up to negotiate two union contracts, expiring only months apart, this presentation tells the story of how Appalachian Regional Healthcare aligned its communication processes, mobilizing nine communities and implementing effective crisis communications and community relations campaigns during two labor strikes. From violence on the picket line, intervention by two governors, strategic pressure from outsider unions and resolutions passed by county elected officials in support of the unions - the events reported by the media created a whirlwind, formed through the faces and voices of striking healthcare workers and hospital management.