UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital nurses bask in union win, await contract talks

Dozens of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital nurses celebrated Tuesday afternoon near the Oakland medical facility after securing a union over the weekend.

Ballots counted late Saturday showed nurses voting 402 to 305 in favor of unionizing. That capped off a union drive that was officially announced in May, but has been years of stop-and-start organizing in the making.

Smiles spread during the event, held at Zulema Parklet, and nurses remarked to one another how their success unionizing still didn’t feel real.

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, a strong backer of the union push, grew emotional while speaking about nurses’ efforts.

“There is an incredible amount of gratitude we all owe you for doing something so selfless, so inspiring and so brave to fight against a behemoth,” Innamorato said. “Thank you for that hope.”

But there’s another heavy lift ahead for the nurses: attaining their first contract with UPMC.

According to the Service Employees International Union, which backed the Magee nurses’ union drive, UPMC has never before negotiated an inaugural contract with a nurses union. UPMC has contracts with nurses at Western Psychiatric Hospital as well as its McKeesport and Altoona hospitals, but those unions formed prior to the health care giant taking over their facilities.

“I just have one thing to say to UPMC: Your nurses have spoken,” Innamorato said. “It is time to respect their decision and get to the bargaining table as soon as possible.”

UPMC, for its part, said through a spokesperson said it respects workers’ decision and looks forward to building a respectful partnership with the union.

“We remain committed to fostering a collaborative work environment focused on providing exceptional care for our patients,” the spokesperson added.

Negotiating a first union contract can be a lengthy endeavor. A Bloomberg Law analysis from 2022 found it takes an average of 465 days for a newly formed union to reach a collective bargaining agreement with their employer.

Nurses at West Penn Hospital, an Allegheny Health Network facility in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood, unionized in August 2020. Their first contract didn’t come until a year later. Along the way, they rallied for better working conditions and even authorized a strike in July 2021.

That initial deal came with annual pay raises and more ability to address staffing issues.

High patient loads — a problem plaguing much of the health care industry — are a key complaint by nurses at Magee.

Clare Duffus, who has spent four years as a registered nurse at the hospital’s Mother-Baby unit, said she and other nurses often don’t have as much time as they would like to spend with patients. That can drive away new hires, she said, worsening the staffing crunch.

“Time and again I have watched countless new and promising nurses come in with high expectations only to find that UPMC falls short of providing them with what they need to be successful, and they move on,” Duffus said.

The new union covers more than 800 nurses. Additional workers, such as lactation consultants, could be added to the bargaining unit through contract negotiations, according to union organizers.

Another 60-or-so advanced practitioners — which include certified registered nurse practitioners, neonatal nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and others — will vote in a separate union election Sept. 6 and Sept. 9.

Workers in this proposed bargaining unit were informed of a staff meeting Thursday, where “we expect to receive anti-union misinformation,” according to Ronni Getz, a certified nurse midwife at Magee.

Pro-union nurses hope the momentum from Saturday’s results propel advanced practitioners to a union victory of their own — and plant the seeds of unionization across the UPMC network.

“By the overwhelming response at other hospitals, I know more nurses will be inspired to unite with us,” Duffus said. “We know change is coming.”