Nearly 900 registered nurses at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wis., voted June 11 to unionize.
Three things to know:
1. The 89% approval vote allows the nurses to join SEIU Wisconsin, the state’s largest healthcare union, according to a June 11 union news release shared with Becker’s. Nurses began organizing more than a year ago and requested their election with the National Labor Relations Board on May 1.
2. The nurses are looking forward to working with St. Louis-based SSM Health on solutions that raise standards for patient care and called on the system to begin good-faith contract negotiations, according to the release.
3. An SSM Health spokesperson said in a June 11 statement shared with Becker’s that the system would have preferred an outcome that allowed for direct engagement with nurses.
“Regardless, we remain committed to continuing to collaborate with our entire team to maintain a compassionate, high-quality, healing environment where we all can do our best work in living out our Mission to provide exceptional care for our patients,” the spokesperson said. “It’s been our Mission for more than 100 years and one we hope SEIU Wisconsin will continue to respect.”
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