Allina Health clinicians file for union election

Doctors and advanced practice providers (APPs) at Allina Health primary and urgent-care clinics filed for a union election this week, seeking to become the nation’s largest union of private-sector clinicians.

The election would cover about 550 clinicians working in over 50 facilities across the region, according to organizers with Doctors Council SEIU, Local 10MD.

Physicians and APPs, who are not physicians but perform many of the same duties, said in a press release issued today that they are unionizing to gain more say over their working conditions, which right now are dragging down “patient care, professional practice and personal well-being.”

“As health care providers, we are committed to delivering the highest quality care to our patients, but we cannot do that when we are overworked, understaffed and unsupported,” Dr. Matt Hoffman, a physician at Allina’s Vadnais Heights clinic, said. “By forming a union with Doctors Council SEIU, we can better advocate for the resources and support we need to provide safe, effective and compassionate care to our patients.”

The decision to unionize, according to organizers, came after months of discussions among Allina health care providers about common concerns like safety, moral injury and eroding professional agency. Dr. Katherine Oyster, who practices family medicine in Cottage Grove, said the goal is a more collaborative, sustainable health system.

“Voting to unionize gives us in primary and urgent care the opportunity to, en bloc, work collaboratively with Allina leadership to re-center our patients as the focus of our work,” Oyster said. “It would give us a seat at the table where practice-changing decisions are made so we can properly advocate for the needs of our patients. It gives us an opportunity to decrease provider burnout/moral injury with the ultimate goal of keeping us happily providing care with Allina for many years to come.”

If the National Labor Relations Board grants their petition for an election, Allina primary and urgent-care clinicians will become the second group that includes Allina physicians to vote on union representation this year.

Mercy Hospital physicians voted in March to join the Doctors Council, but Allina challenged the eligibility of some employees for the bargaining unit. The NLRB has yet to rule on the appeal.

Meanwhile, nearly 800 frontline workers across Allina’s hospital operations in the Twin Cities – lab technicians, nursing assistants, dietary aides, mental health workers and dozens of other classifications – have joined SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa in the last two years. And nurses at Mercy Hospital’s sexual assault unit recently filed for a union election with the Minnesota Nurses Association.

In addition to its track record of rocky labor relations, Allina has come under scrutiny after a New York Times investigation revealed that the provider routinely denied non-emergency care to patients with higher levels of medical debt, raising ethics concerns.

Among their reasons for seeking a union, Allina clinicians cited “moral injury caused by the pressure to prioritize productivity and profit over patient needs and values and from a lack of support and resources to provide high-quality care.” The list also included:

• Patient safety concerns due to understaffing and inadequate resources.
• Limited input and decision-making power in matters affecting patient care, provider safety and professional autonomy.
• The erosion of the clinician-led model of care and the threat of corporate influence on medical decision-making.

Doctors Council SEIU, which represents thousands of health care providers across the U.S., said Allina clinicians plan to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Wednesday outside Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

“We believe that every health care provider deserves a safe and supportive workplace where they can provide the best possible care to their patients,” said Dr. Frances Quee, president of Doctors Council SEIU. “By joining together in a union, these health care providers can have the power and resources they need to make real improvements in their workplace and for their patients.”