CONTACT: Stacy Spexet, (218) 724-5223, uswalocal9460@qwestoffice.net
Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) union have ratified their first contract covering professional employees at Lake Superior Community Health Center (LSCHC) in Duluth, Minn.
The medical professionals, the newest members of USW Local 9460, signed their first union contract in May after more than two years of negotiations. The 11-member unit includes physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and behavioral health therapists. The group became the first bargaining unit in the USW and the first in the state of Minnesota to include physicians and mid-level health care providers as union members.
“As our nation’s health care system undergoes major changes, more and more doctors and other health professionals are working in large health systems rather than in private practice,” said Emil Ramirez, director of USW District 11, which includes Minnesota. “One way to make sure that health care providers continue to have an effective voice in patient care is to ensure their right to bargain collectively.”
LSCHC provides comprehensive primary and preventive health care medical and dental services for low-income and medically underserved communities in the Twin Ports area, with clinics in Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis.
The workers voted in June of 2013 to join USW Local 9460, an amalgamated local that includes about 2,400 health care workers from environmental specialists to surgical technologists at several employers, including the Essentia Health system.
“It’s been an interesting journey, and I’m certainly proud to be part of the Steelworkers,” said Dr. Emily Onello, one of three MDs in the new bargaining unit.
The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in a wide range of industries, including more than 50,000 health care workers. The USW’s District 11 includes Minnesota as well as Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.