After more than two years of publicly sparring, the University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center and the United Health Professionals New Mexico division of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which represents UNM SRMC workers, will sit down together to resume good-faith bargaining next week.
A district court judge denied a request earlier this month from SRMC to avoid bargaining with UHPNM, which won the right to form a union more than two years ago but has not been able to negotiate a contract with the hospital.
The effort to unionize health-care workers at UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center became official in 2022.
The move to form the public employee union was a joint effort by the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico and the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers Lodge #794.
In May 2022, the unions filed to form the United Health Professionals of New Mexico with the New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board.
More than two years later, UHPNM and UNM SRMC are still without a contract.
Both sides hope that will soon change.
UHPNM and UNM SRMC both announced this week that the two sides will begin negotiations on Sept. 18.
“We are committed to staying at the bargaining table until we get it done,” said union lawyer Shane Youtz. “The union has said all along that its mission for negotiations is to get binding agreement on solutions that will help ease the serious staffing shortage and other problems inhibiting patient and working conditions.”
On Sept. 5, Second Judicial District Court Judge Nancy Franchini denied UNM SRMC’s request to delay bargaining in a 10-page order.
“The Court concludes that the only injury (UNM SRMC) has demonstrated is continuing negotiation, which is not substantial. … The Court concludes that a stay in this matter is not warranted,” Franchini wrote.
Franchini’s ruling also allows PRNs to be included in the bargaining unit, which had been a major sticking point in negotiations between the hospital and UHPNM. PRN is Latin for “pro re nata,” which translates to “as the need arises.”
The argument centered around whether PRN employees are freelance, temporary employees and not regular employees of the hospital.
According to the ruling though, PRNs are directly employed by the hospital and are used on an as-needed basis to fill a vacancy or gap in a schedule. They work on a continuous basis, the court wrote, and must be available to work at least eight hours per week.
“PRNs and other employees all perform the same work, and are not contract employees,” Franchini wrote.
A release from UNM Health says that’s not the case.
The release says “both parties continue to wait for a ruling on whether PRN (pro re nata) employees, who are temporary, freelance workers, should be included in the bargaining unit. New Mexico law states only “regular employees” can lawfully be included into a bargaining unit. UNM Hospital has interpreted the law to mean temporary employees cannot be part of a public union. None of the other unions representing UNM Hospital employees include temporary workers in their bargaining units.”
UNM said that because AFT disagrees with the interpretation of this law, contract negotiations have been stalled since February, leaving this group of SRMC employees without a contract. The hospital said clarity on the PRN issue is necessary for fair negotiations with the union.
“We respect the Judge’s order, and we remain committed to doing what is right for our employees. This legal disagreement has created a situation that has led to the employees in this group caught in the middle,” UNM Hospital CEO Kate Becker said. “UNM Hospital looks forward to AFT coming to the table and entering into good faith bargaining so that these employees can be covered by a collective bargaining agreement.”
Youtz said he hopes that no further excuses by the hospital will delay negotiations. Gilbert Martinez, an MRI technologist at the hospital, said he was thrilled that bargaining is set to begin.
“Because of unsafe staffing levels, the quality of patient care has diminished over the past few years. I see it in the radiology department, where patients have to wait too long to be seen, and I know it’s happening in other departments throughout the hospital,” Martinez said. “I truly hope we can reach an agreement on ways to fix these problems.”
UNM Hospital said it has asked AFT to meet at the negotiation table five separate times in the last year and AFT/UHPNM accepted once, and then walked away.
Following the judge’s latest order, UNM Hospital said it fully expects AFT to respect the ruling and enter into good-faith negotiations. UNM Hospital will bargain for terms consistent with how the hospital negotiates with all other unions representing employees at UNM Hospital and SRMC.
“As part of good faith bargaining, we hope AFT’s leadership ends its campaign of personal attacks, misinformation and false accusations, particularly around the quality of care provided by our staff and providers,” SRMC President Jamie Silva-Steele said. “This group of employees, like all our teams, deserve focused conversations centered around how both the union and the hospital will support them, and continue to support the delivery of high-quality patient care. We remain committed to those goals and I hope the latest judicial ruling offers a reset for AFT to commit to those goals with us.”