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Labor Board says union reps can access Sandoval Regional Medical Center
UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center
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Another chapter was recently written in the ongoing battle between the United Health Professionals of New Mexico, a union representing nurses and other health professionals, and the University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center.
Earlier this month, the executive director of the state Public Employee Labor Relations Board, Thomas Griego, found UNM-SRMC violated New Mexico law by attempting to stop union representatives from accessing the workplace to meet with members.
“This crucial decision helps establish safer patient care by allowing us the representation we need to speak up on behalf of our patients,” said UHPNM member and MRI technician Gilbert Martinez. “Having knowledgeable union reps by our side is essential to our ability to speak up for safer patient care and helping mitigate retaliation, targeting and bullying.”
The board ruled UNM-SRMC prevented union representatives from visiting employees in their regular workplaces by denying them entry to the premises. New Mexico state law guarantees workers the right to meet with union representatives “during the employees’ regular work hours at the employees’ regular work location to investigate and discuss grievances, workplace-related complaints and other matters relating to employment relations.”
According to a press release from UHPNM, “these access rights are vital in a hospital setting to ensure that workers can advocate for patient safety and uphold good health care practices. But the labor board found SRMC ignored them.”
“The matter before the PELRB arose following repeated inappropriate conduct by a former SRMC employee on SRMC’s campus. Due to that conduct, the former employee was barred from entering the facility,” said UNM Health and Health Sciences Communications Director Chris Ramirez. “The former employee chose to claim that SRMC’s action was due to her role as a union representative for AFT, but the truth is her conduct was concerning and inappropriate. AFT chose to take this issue to the PELRB, as is their right.”
UHPNM, affiliated nationally with the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers union, said, “SRMC was actively working to prevent union representatives from talking face-to-face with workers.”
The labor relations board ordered access to be restored and for SRMC to “cease and desist from the violation of the Public Employees Bargaining Act … and provide AFT representatives access to SRMC facilities.”
“This decision restores site access to union organizers, which is their right under state law,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “It means the hard-working health care workers at SRMC can get the assistance they need. These medical professionals have dedicated their lives to ensuring that patients are receiving the best care — it’s truly shameful that their employer decided to buck state law to silence their collective voice. What are they afraid of?”
This was just the latest in a string of battles between the union and the hospital dating back to 2022, when UHPNM moved to form a public employee union as a joint effort by the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico and the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers Lodge #794.
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Since then, labor relations have been a big topic at SRMC with health workers raising concerns about the working conditions at the hospital and pleading with SRMC management to negotiate a contract.
Leading the way for the health care workers is Adrienne Enghouse, a former nurse at SRMC.
“We have filed for our recognition,” Enghouse said in 2022, “and we are just waiting for them to confirm that we have a majority. At that point, we will sit down and negotiate a contract. Today is about celebrating that landmark event.”
The hospital, however, hasn’t gone along with the UHPNM’s move to unionize, the union claims.
UHPNM says that SRMC leadership has been refusing to negotiate for months, despite “dangerously low staffing levels, instances of workplace violence and a failing grade from Medicare.”
UNM-SRMC said that is not the case.
“UNM Sandoval Regional Center – A Campus of UNM Hospital (SRMC) remains ready to bargain with United Health Professionals NM division of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT),” Ramirez said. “Unfortunately, AFT continues to pursue litigation instead of coming to the table, as demonstrated by AFT’s press release last week regarding a recommendation from the director of the Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB). That recommendation must still go to the PELRB for review, but AFT would rather publicize that pending recommendation than come to the table with SRMC and bargain in good faith.
“While this matter is pending, AFT has launched a campaign of misinformation, false claims and personal attacks to mislead the public into believing that SRMC is somehow unsafe, that employee morale is low, and that SRMC refuses to bargain. Those claims are not true.”
UHPNM said, “SRMC has refused to come to the table to negotiate a first contract, instead using delaying tactics to stop workers from bargaining to improve patient care. The move to bar union representatives is part of a pattern and practice of hostility to the staff who do the work that makes the hospital run.”
“Our number-one focus is safe quality patient care,” said UHPNM member and physical therapist Regina McGinnis. “Because our workplace is so toxic, we require union representatives to be present in our workplace to help us speak up and out about patient safety issues.”
