Union files new charges that St. Mary’s Hospital, Dean Medical have violated labor laws

The union representing nurses at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison and Dean Medical Group outpatient clinics in Dane County has escalated charges that the two healthcare providers are violating federal labor laws after employees voted overwhelmingly for union representation.

SEIU Wisconsin filed unfair labor practice charges this week with the National Labor Relations Board against St. Mary’s and against Dean. Both organizations are part of SSM Health, a Catholic nonprofit health system based in St. Louis.

A 71% majority of nurses at Dean’s 10 clinics voted for union representation in September, three months after nurses at St. Mary’s Hospital voted for union representation with an 89% majority in June. Altogether the two groups of nurses total nearly 1,200 people.

To date, SSM has declined to bargain with the hospital nurses’ union, citing pending challenges to the June election. Earlier in September the union charged the hospital management with failing to bargain in violation of federal law.

The newest charge against the hospital alleges a nurse was fired in August in retaliation for supporting the union.

The new charges against Dean allege that the medical group discriminated against union supporters in prohibiting union-related materials from work areas and barring employees from displaying union insignia and other items supporting the union; engaged in surveillance of employees; held captive audience meetings with threats of discipline or firing for people who didn’t attend; and threatened employees with “negative changes to terms and conditions of employment” if employees voted in the union.

Those charges follow previous charges filed with the NLRB, including one against Dean in September for firing a nurse and a string of charges against St. Mary’s earlier in September, including the failure-to-bargain allegation.

“We are doing this so we can have a voice,” said Dean nurse Michelle Camilleri in a phone interview Thursday. “My colleagues and I want to provide a certain standard of care for our patients. We want to be able to care for them in a way so they can get the highest level of care as we can give.”

She said nurses who voted for unionization were responding to policies and practices that were making it “difficult to provide that standard of care” for patients and have driven some nurses to leave SSM.

“We would like to see SSM come to the table,” Camilleri said.

In a statement Thursday, SSM denied violating federal labor laws. “There has been no unlawful conduct. We respect and value all of our employees,” the statement said.

The statement called the allegations “another ongoing attempt to distract us” from the health system’s mission.