A majority of about 700 nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital have voted to unionize with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the union announced Sunday.
Ballots were counted late Saturday following voting that day and Tuesday. Nurses voted 402 to 305, or 57% to 43%, in favor of unionizing.
Nurses, elected officials, patients and community members are scheduled to gather at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Zulema Parklet, across from the hospital at Boulevard of the Allies and Zulema Street, to celebrate and call on UPMC to negotiate a contract.
The vote came after the regional National Labor Relations Board ruled this month that UPMC had to allow the nurses to hold a union election.
In a statement provided to TribLive news partner WTAE, UPMC said: “We respect the decision of UPMC Magee nurses to unionize with SEIU and look forward to building a respectful partnership. We remain committed to fostering a collaborative work environment focused on providing exceptional care for our patients.”
According to the union, Magee nurses are the first nurse employees of UPMC to successfully form a union. It accused UPMC of running an anti-union campaign that included misinformation and creating “an atmosphere of tension and confusion in the workplace.”
“My co-workers and I are absolutely overjoyed to finally win a union voice for our patients, our profession and our community,” Jenna Berry, a registered nurse at the Magee-Women’s Cancer Center, said in a statement provided by the union. “With continued support, we call on UPMC executives to respect the voice of the clear majority and begin negotiations with us right away.”
About 60 advanced practitioners — which include certified registered nurse practitioners, neonatal nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and others — will vote to unionize in a separate election Sept. 6 and 9.
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, congratulated the nurses on their vote and urged UPMC to accept their decision.
Congratulations to Magee nurses on winning their union election!
— Rep. Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) August 24, 2025
Now it’s time for @UPMC to recognize their contract and negotiate in good faith—for the good of the nurses, patients, and Western PA.
Any attempts to delay or deny their voice are unacceptable. https://t.co/g32Nd6aSKb
“Magee nurses have spoken, and any further attempt to deny and delay their freedom to have a union voice is completely unacceptable,” Lee said in a statement provided by the union. “UPMC has already wasted precious patient care resources on a high-priced law firm to slow the process down while they ran an intense anti-union campaign inside the hospital every single day. Those are resources that could have been productively invested in staffing, support and retention of nurses.
“Now it’s time for UPMC to stop the delay tactics, recognize the nurses union and immediately sit down to begin contract talks in good faith — just as other large health systems have done throughout the state, for the good of our entire region.”
