Frontline health care workers at Planned Parenthood North Central States voted overwhelmingly to unionize, they announced last week, with 90% of ballots cast in favor of a union.
“This victory is a huge turning point for us and reproductive health care workers everywhere. Because it’s us who actually makes these clinics run,” said Sage Shemroske, a health care worker in Minneapolis.
The newly unionized group covers approximately 435 workers, including nurses, pharmacists, administrative assistants and other clinic staff across five states — Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The National Labor Relations Board tallied the votes on Thursday after a three-week voting period, with 238 workers voting in favor and 26 against.
The unionization effort comes as Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the country, grapples with states across the country banning abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month.
That’s led to an influx of patients to states that still allow the procedure, including Minnesota and Nebraska. While Iowa still allows abortion, the governor hopes to revive the state’s six-week abortion ban that was deemed unconstitutional before Roe was overturned. Iowa has also instituted a new restriction requiring patients to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion.
“It’s really overwhelming,” said April Clark, a senior training nurse for eight Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa. “We’re basically seeing each patient twice. So it’s limiting some of our capacity.”
Minnesota had a similar restriction until this month, when a Ramsey County judge struck down that law along with a series of other abortion regulations.
The union effort also comes as the organization is undergoing major leadership changes, with theimpending departure of CEO Sarah Stoesz, who led the organization for 20 years and oversaw its expansion into three new states.
Unionization activity has surged in recent months as workers, battered by the pandemic and soaring inflation, seek higher wages and a greater voice in their workplaces. The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees private sector unions, reported petitions for union elections are up 56% from last year.
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, which organized the Planned Parenthood workers, has been particularly active, having already unionized 1,700 workers across 14 groups over the past year alone.
Labor organizers in the nonprofit sector have been especially aggressive in recent years, with local workers unionizing at Beacon Housing Collaborative, Jewish Community Action and an array of other groups. DFL campaigns are now frequently unionized.
Workers at Planned Parenthood North Central States say they want the organization to hire more staff and raise wages to be competitive with nearby health care facilities.
Clark, the Iowa trainer, says the clinics are chronically understaffed, and new employees often leave for better paying jobs at nearby hospitals.
“It just really does lead to burnout,” she said.
This article first appeared in the Minnesota Reformer, a sister site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom Network.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
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