Unionized workers at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic Health System's campus in Albert Lea, Minn., ratified new contracts, according to a Star Tribune report.
The three-year agreements, approved by workers May 21, covers about 80 employees in Albert Lea represented by Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota. It includes raises of 7.25 percent to 10 percent over the life of the contracts, the union said, according to the report.
News of the agreements comes after SEIU Healthcare Minnesota members, who work as certified nursing assistants, housekeepers, sterile processing technicians and in utilities and materials management, went on strike Dec. 19.
They were subsequently unable to return to work until Dec. 26 due to Mayo's commitment with temporary replacement workers. With the new labor deal, a second potential strike is off the table, according to the report. In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review, Mayo said both parties also agreed to withdraw unfair labor practice complaints they filed with the National Labor Relations Board regarding the workers being barred from returning to work for days after the December strike.
But the system noted the new labor deals aren't official until the union "provides its official written notice to the NLRB to withdraw their unfair labor practice charges and the NLRB agrees to dismiss the charges, which we expect to happen within the next few days."
Assuming the labor deals become official, SEIU members will receive the the standard benefit plans on the same terms as other Mayo employees, according to the system. The Star Tribune reports workers will also receive protections with respect to the system's plans to move certain services from Albert Lea to its campus in Austin, Minn.
In the next couple of years, Mayo will consolidate Albert Lea's inpatient surgeries, overnight hospitalization, maternity and intensive care at the Austin campus. The system also plans to move Austin's inpatient Psychiatric Services Unit to Albert Lea and add observation beds to the Albert Lea emergency department.
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