Primary care physicians and advanced practice providers at Phoenix-based Banner Health have voted to unionize with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, marking the first union among the system’s clinicians, according to a Sept. 2 news release from the union shared with Becker’s.
Participating clinicians supported representation by 69% of the vote, the release said. The bargaining unit covers all primary care physicians, doctors of osteopathy, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in Banner’s outpatient clinics in Arizona, and includes 243 employees, National Labor Relations Board records show. Ballots were mailed July 29 and were due back Aug. 26.
The unit provides care to more than 500,000 patients annually across 31 primary care clinic locations in the Phoenix metropolitan area, the release said. Clinicians organized around patient panel sizes, staffing levels, scheduling practices and administrative burden.
“Today’s election results send a clear message to healthcare systems across the country: when clinicians are shut out of decisions about staffing and patient care, they will come together and form a union to be heard,” Stuart Bussey, MD, president of the union, said in the release.
Banner said in a statement to Becker’s that it respects the decision and, if the results are certified by the NLRB, will consider next steps in meeting its obligations to the union, its clinicians and the community.
“We remain deeply committed to the culture we have built together, which is grounded in trust, respect and a shared dedication to our patients and communities,” the statement said. “The contributions our clinicians and team members make every day are what make Banner exceptional, and that will not change.”
The unit awaits certification of the results by the NLRB before contract negotiations begin. Clinicians filed the petition in June, and the union drive ran about 18 months.
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