Saying SSM Health refuses to negotiate with them, St. Mary’s Hospital nurses have filed official charges against the hospital’s corporate owner, SSM Health, for allegedly breaking federal labor law.
The charges, which include failing to engage in negotiations, were filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
In a statement released Tuesday by SEIU Wisconsin, the union representing the St. Mary’s nurses, they said that instead of wasting resources fighting them, SSM should respect their vote to unionize.
In June, 83% of St. Mary’s nurses voted to form a union.
SSM Health has challenged the union vote, but on July 22, the National Labor Relations Board regional office overruled the objections of SSM and certified the union election for almost 900 nurses at St. Mary’s hospital.
In July, SSM Health asked federal officials to void the election results, claiming that over 500 who voted should not have been allowed to because they are supervisors.
The move has delayed contract negotiations for nurses, who say they want to negotiate better wages and safer staffing levels.
“SSM should be investing in staffing, support and retention of nurses, not wasting time and resources fighting our union, which is our voice to speak up for our patients,” Hannah Joers, who works in the Cardiac Cath Lab at St. Mary’s, said in a press release.
“I’ve always had a drive for helping people and I’m proud to serve patients in my community,” Joers said. “But because SSM staffs based on ‘productivity grids’ rather than patients’ sickness level, it’s very challenging for nurses to provide the level of care we believe in.”
