Nurses at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital and Dean Medical Clinic have joined forces to expand labor charges against their parent company, SSM Health, alleging union-busting activity.
St. Mary’s nurses filed federal labor charges Sept. 8, nearly two months after voting to unionize under the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The initial charges alleged that SSM Health refused to negotiate a union contract and interfered with nurses’ labor rights.
Since then, Dean Medical Clinic nurses have also unionized under SEIU and joined the complaint with additional charges against SSM Health.
The new charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) allege that SSM Health terminated nurses for advocating for union representation; compelled nurses to attend anti-union “captive audience meetings” under threat of discipline or termination; threatened changes to employment terms and conditions if nurses voted to unionize; surveilled nurses; destroyed and confiscated union materials; and discriminated against nurses by prohibiting the display of union materials and insignia while allowing its own non-union materials to be displayed.
“SSM’s scare tactics are a symptom of the broken healthcare system, and we’re building a powerful movement of nurses and our community to start fixing it, so our patients’ needs come first,” said Michelle Camilleri, who works at the SSM Health Dean Medical Group South Madison Campus.
Previous reporting has confirmed multiple times SSM Health has engaged in union-busting activity.
Confirmed instances during unionization efforts, verified through multiple sources from both St. Mary’s and SEIU, include sending staff home for wearing union-themed uniforms, destroying union literature set out in employee areas, threats of indefinite suspension, destroying flyers, preventing cookies from being delivered to nurses during Nurse Appreciation Week and voting and changing screen savers in hospital computers to anti-union talking points.
“I’ve worked in St. Mary’s Hospital and I’ve also floated through many Dean clinics, so I’ve seen how widespread the crisis is across our facilities. Very often, I was floated to a clinic and I’d be the only nurse there for up to 30 patients, sometimes without adequate orientation or training,” Camilleri said. “That astronomical workload causes so much wear and tear on your body and mind, and it’s deeply unfair to the patients we serve. No matter how hard you work, you’re always running behind, and you go home worried sick wondering if there’s something you didn’t do.”
SSM Health has been in a continuous campaign to overturn election results — with St. Mary’s at least — with challenges to its validity. At least one has been overturned while a decision awaits for other appeals. It is currently unclear if SSM Health will pursue challenges to election results for Dean Health Clinics too.
“In addition to being overworked, we’re way underpaid, and I’ve seen many dedicated nurse coworkers leave SSM because they just couldn’t stand the conditions anymore,” Camilleri said. “SSM is treating nurses and those we care for as just numbers that they can squeeze for more profits. But we are united to demand that SSM executives see us as people, and invest in staffing and retention of nurses so we can provide the care our patients deserve.”
