DULUTH — A recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board will result in a vote on unionization for about 400 of Essentia Health’s advanced practice providers. This includes nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives and certified nurse specialists. The Minnesota Nurses Association filed its petition for a single bargaining unit in November, and a hearing was held in February.
The election will take place by mail June 24, with ballots to be returned by July 22. The group cited the need to address better compensation, work/life balance and patient loads, and believe unionization will allow them more say in their practice and working conditions as members of the MNA. The hospital released a statement claiming the ruling veers from the board’s Health Care Rule that governs bargaining units, which typically separates hospital and clinic employees.
“These health care professionals work in a variety of settings and specialties with individual interests and skills, which would be very challenging to represent in a single bargaining unit,” Essentia Health stated in the news release. ADVERTISEMENT According to Essentia, the goals and objectives of its advanced practice providers are best addressed without union representation, adding that the compensation provided to them is “market competitive.” The health care system expressed concern that unionization would exasperate workforce challenges and affect its ability to recruit and retain skill.
