UPMC Magee-Womens nurses celebrate union victory with allies

The scene at Zulema Parklet across from UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland Tuesday was pretty much what you would expect for a victory celebration. A crowd of more than 100 supporters gathered, waving signs and banners, and a variety of speakers praised the nearly 60 nurses present and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania’s successful fight for their right to form a union at UPMC.

More than 800 nurses at Magee, a significant provider of maternal and newborn care in the region, will have representation, thanks to the largest nurse union election in recent Pennsylvania history.

Nurses, elected officials and community members didn’t just celebrate, though. They called on UPMC executives to respect the nurses’ clear decision, cease all further attempts at legal delays and negotiate a union contract.

Magee nurses are the first employed by UPMC, Pennsylvania’s largest private employer, to successfully form a union. The only other union nurses are at facilities that UPMC has acquired.

The National Labor Relations Board authorized a union election earlier this month and voting took place on Aug. 19 and 23. The result: 402 to 305 to join SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey addressed the crowd first with an impassioned speech about what the nurses mean to the city and the future of health care. “When you’re able to get through something like this that is meaningful, that will go down in the history of this city, that is demonstrating what people can do when they pull together to form a union,” he said. “We should all be happy about that today.”

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato followed, congratulating the nurses for their fortitude to win the chance to form their union. “And we know, right, Pittsburgh is a union town, and the right to organize is sacred, and when workers win, we know the whole community is stronger,” she said.

The nurses who addressed the crowd spoke about the need to have a bigger role in patient care, especially because they know patients’ needs best. “I am excited because I really love to see nurses being able to actually make decisions for the care we provide instead of feeling like our hands are tied or that we are constantly making apologies for decisions that are outside of us,” said Sharece Abee, a 10-year nurse.

And she spoke about another benefit. “I met nurses across the hospital that I would not have met otherwise until I joined the efforts for us to unionize. I feel really privileged to have met them because in 20 or 30 years I still will be bonded to them over this. We’re doing this together.”

A union statement said a majority of nurses voted to form a union so they can have more time with their patients and a seat at the decision-making table to ensure the highest standards of care.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, who also spoke at the rally, had praised the nurses earlier on their victory. “I enthusiastically congratulate Magee nurses on winning their union election and strongly urge UPMC to accept their decision,” she said in a statement. “Magee nurses have spoken, and any further attempt to deny and delay their freedom to have a union voice is completely unacceptable.”

Political supporters of the union effort in addition to Lee, Innamorato and Gainey included state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill. The nurses read a long list of city, county and state elected officials who backed the union choice at the rally.

A statement from the new union nurses said that UPMC hired outside third-party consultants to run a prolonged, expensive and polarizing anti-union campaign. The campaign included misinformation, creating an atmosphere of tension and confusion in the workplace. This pulled nurses from the bedside for meetings, all of which added stress to the already stretched staff.

“I love being a nurse at Magee, and in many ways our hospital is a wonderful place to work, but we need a united voice to advocate for our patients and the future of our profession,” said Ashley Grieco, who is a registered nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit and has seven years of UPMC service.

“The health care system in our state and our country has been heading in the wrong direction, and that’s why doctors, nurses, advanced practitioners and other health care workers are standing up for ourselves and those we care for. We have to take a stand for our professions and our community because we’ve learned that no one else will,” Grieco said.

Beth Wilson, a nurse, agrees. “I’ve seen a lot of materials that said that the main idea of the strike or the union was to improve patient care. That is our main objective,” she said.

Several speakers said that nurses give patients direct care, and with a union, they can have a larger role in important decisions. “My co-workers and I are absolutely overjoyed to finally win a union voice for our patients, our profession and our community,” said Jenna Berry, a registered nurse at Magee-Womens’ cancer center.

“We were incredibly inspired and thankful for the overwhelming support from our community, patients and elected officials. With continued support, we call on UPMC executives to respect the voice of the clear majority and begin negotiations with us right away. We look forward to working with UPMC for the future success of our hospital,” she said.

Another union vote will come next month. About 60 advanced practitioners – they include certified registered nurse practitioners, neonatal nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and others – will have a separate election on Sept. 6 and 9.

Ronnie Getz, a certified nurse midwife at Magee, said that for many years the nurses have been concerned about the hospital system and that the health care industry is focused on profits and not on patients.

“As health care providers, we’ve tried through all the usual avenues to advocate for changes, talking with our managers, addressing issues at meetings and surveys, and we have not seen any progress toward improving quality health care for our patients,” she said. “So forming a union is what helps us actually gain a seat at the table, so we have actual medical professionals who know what it is like caring for patients day to day as part of making those decisions in the room where it happens alongside the insurance executive and the administration of the health care system.”

Getz is part of that midwife and nurse practitioners group who will vote in early September. In the union statement the nurses said that they hope they have inspired them and thousands of others throughout the commonwealth to unite and unionize, too. Together, the wrote, they can move health care corporations to work with them to address the nursing crisis and transform the overall health care system so that patients come first.

One of the first nurses to speak acknowledged both the fight for the vote and what lies ahead. “It took a lot of strength from the people I work with and a lot of energy and, you know, I’m just so happy we made it,” said Clare Duffus, a registered nurse on the Mother-Baby Unit. “Everyone who has been working on this with us has worked so hard, and it just feels good to have a victory.

“We are hopeful that UPMC will agree to negotiate with us, and we don’t want any more delays. We want to sit and negotiate and create a strong and fair contract for the nurses.”

SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania said it is the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and health care workers, uniting tens of thousands of professional and technical employees, direct care workers, and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home- and community-based services, and state facilities across the state.

In a statement, UPMC said it looked forward to partnering with SEIU.

“We respect the decision of UPMC Magee nurses to unionize with the SEIU and look forward to a respectful partnership,” spokesman Paul Wood said. “We remain committed to fostering a collaborative work environment focused on providing exceptional care for our patients.”

The election victory is part of a growing national trend of doctors, nurses and other highly skilled health care professionals unionizing so they can have a voice in their jobs and how they deliver care, alongside business and insurance executives.

Pennsylvania United Executive Director Alex Wallach Hanson pointed out the time it took to make the vote happen in a news release a day before the rally. “A victory over a decade in the making, this is a monumental step forward for the workers of UPMC, who’ve bravely fought to raise the standards of care and address the most pressing health care needs of our communities.”