Doctors’ Union Certified Over Allina Objections — And Other Labor News

The union election of more than 130 Allina Health doctors at Mercy and Unity hospitals was certified by federal labor regulators on Wednesday over objections by the health care system. In a statement on Thursday, Allina said it would not appeal the decision, paving the way for negotiations to begin over wages, benefits and working conditions.

“I have been crying tears of joy, thinking what adversity we had to overcome over the last year,” said Dr. Tomas Murdych, who has worked at Mercy for 21 years. “We now welcome our union of hospital-employed physicians.”

The certification is the second major victory in the past year by Doctors Council SEIU, which unionized more than 550 primary care doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners across 61 Allina Health primary and urgent care clinics last fall. The group is believed to be the largest private-sector doctors’ union in the country.

Doctors at Mercy and Unity hospitals in Fridley and Coon Rapids voted to unionize in March 2023 — before the primary care practitioners — by a margin of 2-to-1, citing rising caseloads, mountains of paperwork and little control over how they care for patients.

Allina, represented by prominent anti-union law firm Littler Mendelson, argued that three physicians active in the Mercy and Unity union campaign were supervisors and their pro-union positions put unlawful pressure on their colleagues.

A National Labor Relations Board hearing officer rejected those claims. Allina appealed the decision, but that effort failed when an NLRB regional director upheld the previous decision.

SOURCE: Minnesota Reformer