About 1,000 nurses at Magee-Womens Hospital are set to decide whether they'd like to be represented by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania later this month. The organizing effort at one of the region's leading labor and delivery centers is the latest in a growing labor movement among health care professionals in Pennsylvania.
"A primary tenet in nursing is patient advocacy, and forming our union is about having a voice in a large corporate healthcare system to fulfill that mission," said Mariah Park, a labor and delivery nurse at Magee.
On Friday, the National Labor Relations Board set voting dates for Aug. 19 and 23 for the 1,000 nurses at Magee.
UPMC, which owns the hospital, said in a statement Monday that the health system "encourages all eligible employees to vote so that their voices will be heard."
Paul Wood, UPMC vice president and chief communications officer, said although UPMC would "prefer fostering direct, successful relationships between UPMC Magee management and staff, rather than dealing through third parties" that the health system would "respect each UPMC Magee employee's right to choose or decline union membership."
Magee nurses first announced their intent to unionize in May, citing concerns about inadequate staffing, poor retention of experienced nurses and a lack of communication between frontline health workers and UPMC executives.
"Too often we aren't even meeting nationally recognized staffing standards," said Park. "When we don't have adequate time to spend with each patient, we finish our workday feeling like we weren't able to give them everything they need because we're stretched so thin."
Nearly half of all Allegheny County babies are born at Magee every year, and the hospital's intensive care unit provides specialized care for around 1,500 critically ill babies annually.
Nurses at Magee caught the attention of Pittsburgh's labor leaders as well as local electeds who have both thrown support behind the unionization effort.
Last month, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato launched a new resource aimed at helping workers report anti-union or anti-worker incidents at their workplace that may impact workers' right to organize. The "Right to Organize Incident Report Form" was launched amid claims by UPMC staff that executives were discouraging Magee nurses from pursuing a union.
Innamorato said that Magee nurses had "contacted my office with serious allegations."
"They report that UPMC's anti-union efforts are taking precious time away from patient care, fostering a toxic work environment, and wasting valuable resources," Innamorato said. "Organized labor built this region, and the public overwhelmingly knows we're better when workers have a voice."
Pennsylvania state Rep. Dan Frankel — chairman of the House Health Committee — issued a statement Monday applauding the scheduled election as a "critical step toward ensuring frontline health care workers have a voice in their workplace."
"These nurses are the backbone of maternal and newborn care in our region, and they deserve the same rights as any other workers to advocate for safe staffing, better conditions and the resources they need to provide excellent care," Frankel said.
The Squirrel Hill Democrat also urged UPMC to abandon its effort to push back on the union, criticizing the health system's hiring of labor law firm Ogletree Deakins. Frankel claimed that invitations for a meeting with the Allegheny County House Democratic Delegation to discuss the nurses' concerns have gone unanswered by the health system.
"This is a taxpayer-subsidized, nonprofit hospital system and its priorities should reflect that," he said. "Every minute nurses are pulled off the floor to attend mandatory anti-union meetings is a minute they're not caring for patients."
A separate election for around 100 advanced practice professionals — which include certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and other positions — is also expected to be scheduled.
Nurses plan to hold a rally Thursday across from Magee at 3 p.m.
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