After nurses at St. Mary voted to unionize, SSM Health seeks to throw out the election because certain voters should not have been allowed to vote.
Nurses at St. Mary overwhelmingly voted yes to unionize and be represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Wisconsin this past June. It sought to unionize due to continuously deteriorating conditions that impacted pay, retention and ability to treat patients. The challenge comes from St. Mary’s parent company, St. Louis-based SSM Health, as it asks the National Labor Relations Board to review the results of the election in the belief that charge nurses should not be eligible to vote.
“St. Mary’s nurses voted by 89% to form our union so we have a strong, local voice for the highest quality care, and to raise standards for our patients and profession throughout our community,” said Lynette Willsey-Schmidt, registered nurse in St. Mary’s labor and delivery, in a statement to Madison365. “During our election, we had a massive outpouring of support from our patients, community and elected leaders. We have a clear mandate to sit down with SSM and work collaboratively with them on real solutions to the extreme crisis of understaffing, turnover and burnout in our hospital.”
The total number of nurses who voted in the election was 574. Of the group, 511 — 89% — voted in favor of unionizing, while 63 voted no. That total included 83 charge nurses.
SSM Health contests who is eligible to vote, specifically citing that core charge nurses are supervisors and should not be eligible to vote. There is some level of merit to SSM’s argument.
In 2006, the NLRB ruled on two decisions in regard to the status of charge nurses as supervisors.
It ruled that charge nurses in acute care are supervisors and are excluded from union representation — and ineligible to vote in union elections as they are not part of it. Its other decision ruled that charge nurses in nursing homes are not considered supervisors and are therefore able to be represented by unions and vote in elections.
However, the NLRB stated that both rulings are based on the unique facts of each instance and do not outright bar charge nurses in either instance from eligibility or ineligibility in future union elections.
In that process, the NLRB made a new statutory definition for a supervisor that would make them ineligible to vote and make them akin to management roles. The new definition of a supervisor is someone who can hire, fire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees.
“We have asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to review the results to ensure that the election was conducted in accordance with federal labor law. The NLRB has an established post-election process designed to ensure fairness and we are participating in that process. At SSM Health, we respect our employees’ right to decide whether they want union representation, and we remain committed to complying with all applicable labor laws throughout the process. Our nurses are essential to the care we provide, and we value the contributions they make every day,” SSM Health said in a statement to Madison365.
(Photo by Omar Waheed)
Charge nurses at St. Mary’s do not have hiring or firing authority. They serve in a more supportive role for floor nurses and patient admissions and discharges, so they would not be disqualified under the NLRB’s definition of ineligible supervisors.
Additionally, even if the charge nurse’s votes were completely thrown out, it would not be enough to overturn the election results to unionize. In comparison to UnityPoint Health-Meriter, which is also represented by SEIU, charge nurses are considered part of the union.
“These tactics distract from patient care delivery and cause us further anxiety when we are already struggling with understaffing, stress and exhaustion,” Willsey-Schmidt said. “They also go against Catholic social teaching, which strongly supports the rights of working people and their unions, especially healthcare professionals advocating for our patients.”
While there is some basis to SSM Health’s argument on the eligibility of charge nurses, it missed its deadline to file its Statement of Position with the NLRB during the lead-up to the election. That cost SSM Health to forfeit its right to argue over who is considered an eligible voter and an appropriate bargaining unit past the NLRB’s standard provisions, according to the NLRB.
“St. Mary’s nurses are moving forward with creating our survey to determine our contract priorities and start drafting our proposals,” Willsey-Schmidt said. “We urge SSM to drop their objections to our election and work with us to build a relationship based on mutual respect, open communication and cooperation to achieve shared goals. We look forward to starting negotiations so we can make real progress toward fulfilling St. Mary’s mission, so that our hospital is the very best place to work and receive care.”
