Workers at Rogers Behavioral Health facilities in West Allis and Madison, Wis., voted to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers amid pushback from the provider.
There are approximately 63 workers in West Allis and 33 in West Madison who were eligible to vote in the union elections. In separate elections held April 22, the West Allis workers voted 53-4, and the Madison workers 26-4 in favor of unionization, according to an April 23 news release from the NUHW. The roles represented in the votes are mental health therapists, behavioral health technicians, nurses and physicians.
The union said it plans to negotiate contracts addressing pay, staffing levels and patient care time. The West Allis facility began organizing efforts after the company reclassified mental health clinicians from salaried to hourly workers and lifted caps on caseloads.
The elections proceeded after National Labor Relations Board Director Jennifer Hadsall rejected Rogers’ argument that its 13 Wisconsin facilities should be treated as a single bargaining unit rather than separate, clinic-based units, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported April 23. Rogers appealed the ruling and filed a federal lawsuit April 20 seeking to block the elections while the appeal was pending, but a judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order.
In a separate ruling issued before the elections, Ms. Hadsall determined that three workers fired Feb. 9 were eligible to participate in the vote. The union has filed unfair labor practice charges alleging the terminations were retaliatory. Rogers has said it followed the law, according to the report.
Rogers later fired three additional workers — including two mental health clinicians and a front desk worker — at its West Allis clinic, bringing the total number of terminated union supporters to six, according to a May 8 NUHW news release. The terminations came days after Rogers workers voted to join the union.
The union will represent nearly 70 workers at the West Allis clinic and nearly 40 employees at the Madison clinic, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Rogers Behavioral Health said in a statement shared with Becker’s, “We acknowledge the union election outcomes in Madison and West Allis Lincoln Center. We are evaluating our next steps in support of our system of care. We are committed to our patients, our people, and the integrated care that has made Rogers a trusted provider across Wisconsin since 1907.”
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