Physician Unionizing Vote Results at Allina Mercy, Unity Delayed

March 30, 2023

Physician employees at Allina Mercy and Unity locations voted March 27-28 on whether to unionize with Doctors Council SEIU. At press time, the results of the election had not been called.  

According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), there were 132 eligible voters, and 105 votes were cast, with 67 in support and 38 against unionizing. However, 30 ballots have been challenged making the outcome unclear. 

The NLRB notes that among those excluded from voting in the union election are physicians who work less than 20% of their time at Mercy or Unity, confidential employees, managerial employees, and guards and supervisors as defined by the NLRB. 

Should the involved physicians vote to unionize, it would represent the largest known Minnesota physician unionizing effort to date, and the first since a group of Duluth physicians joined the United Steelworkers in 2016.  

MMA President Will Nicholson, MD and Board of Trustees Chair Edwin Bogonko, MD, recently penned an Insights commentary on the factors driving physicians to consider unions and other practice choices.