More than 300 nurses at 10 SSM Health Dean Medical Group outpatient clinics in Dane County, Wis., have voted to join SEIU Wisconsin.
Four things to know:
1. The 340 nurses work in outpatient clinics that provide cancer treatment, urgent care, family medicine, surgery, gastrointestinal care and other services, according to a Sept. 25 union news release shared with Becker’s.
2. Seventy-one percent of them voted to form a union in an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. The nurses filed for the election Aug. 10. Voting began at the clinics Sept. 22, and votes were counted the night of Sept. 25, according to the release.
3. St. Louis-based SSM Health thanked the nurses who took part in the election.
“While we would have preferred an outcome that allowed us to continue working directly with our nurses, we respect their decision and are committed to working constructively through the process ahead,” a spokesperson said in a Sept. 25 statement shared with Becker’s. “We are grateful for the dedication of our nurses and the care they provide each day.”
4. The nurses are seeking negotiations on a contract focused on staffing levels, compensation that keeps nurses on staff, and policies they say will address burnout and turnover, according to the release.
SEIU Wisconsin represents more than 8,000 hospital, nursing home, home care and social service workers.
