UW Health Nurses Threaten Strike Unless the Administration Recognizes and Bargains With Their Union

UW Health responds that it can't legally collectively bargain under Wisconsin law.

University of Wisconsin Health nurses have voted overwhelmingly to strike for “safe, quality patient care” and recognition of their union, joining a succession of recent public protests by healthcare workers across the country.

The strike is set to begin at 7 a.m. Sept. 13 and end at 7 a.m. Sept. 16, according to a press release from Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Wisconsin, the state’s healthcare workers union.

This action is the latest in a string of protests and strikes by nurses and other frontline healthcare workers demanding relief from understaffing, turnover, staff cuts, and burnout. Others include:

• Kaiser Permanente mental health workers in Hawaii will join their California counterparts on picket lines on Aug. 29 for an open-ended protest against what they say is woeful understaffing for mental health services.
• Nurses with Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, staged a protest rally today—the second one in a year—for alleged “chronic short staffing that jeopardizes patient safety.”
• And Northern California nurses and healthcare workers staged a one-day strike in April to protest Sutter Health's refusal to address their proposals about safe staffing and health and safety protections.

UW Health nurses voted Wednesday to strike by a 99% margin, though they would prefer to negotiate with the health system, according to SIEU Wisconsin.

“They would much rather work with UW Health to address the escalating crisis and cooperatively ensure safe staffing, retention and quality care, but the UW Health administration and board have adamantly refused union recognition while conditions worsen, leaving nurses with no other option than to strike,” SIEU said in the release.

UW Health responds

But UW Health can’t legally collectively bargain under Wisconsin law, the health system said in a statement sent to HealthLeaders.

“While UW Health can appreciate the idea of social activism, whether anyone supports or opposes recognizing a union to engage in collective bargaining is irrelevant until we determine whether one is legally allowed,” the statement reads.

“At this time, the non-partisan Wisconsin Legislative Council and Legislative Reference Bureau, as well as internal legal counsel and external legal counsel agree that the health system cannot legally collectively bargain under Wisconsin law, due to the Act 10 legislation passed in 2011,” according to UW Health. “The attorney general has said he believes we can, but by his own admission states that his opinion is not law and that only the courts or the legislature can provide a conclusive answer. UW Health will not violate the law.”

The attorney general opinion suggested that the union could petition the state for recognition through traditional channels, the statement said.

“Taking that route would avoid a strike and move us closer to getting a definitive answer from the courts on whether UW Health can legally recognize and bargain with a union,” according to UW Health.

Protecting patients

UW nurses once were members of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, but when their last union contract expired in 2014, “executives used Wisconsin Act 10 as an excuse not to negotiate a new agreement,” according to SEIU.

If nurses do strike, they will provide an official notice to UW Health at least 10 days in advance so the administration can make preparations to ensure patient safety.

“The decision by SEIU to conduct a strike is disappointing,” according to UW Health. “They will harm patients knowing that their actions will not gain them an answer to these legal questions.”

“While we hope SEIU reconsiders this unfortunate decision, we must take them at their word that a strike will happen,” the statement said. “This strike will be unpleasant for patients and for our staff, but we will get through it and never lose sight of our shared mission to meet the needs of our patients."