Nurses at Essentia Miller Hill Surgery Center and Essentia Solvay Hospice House, both based in Duluth, Minn., have filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board.
The union would be represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, according to a May 2 news release from the organization.
According to the release, the nurses at the ASC and hospice house, which are both owned by Duluth-based Essentia Health, are facing issues surrounding working conditions, scheduling and patient care conditions.
"There needs to be guidelines in place for mandatory time off on low-needs days," Cindy Proulx, registered nurse at the Essentia Surgery Center, said in the release. "Nurses are not guaranteed their Full-Time Equivalencies, and there needs to be a limit on the amount of time off Essentia is mandating."
"At Essentia, we have a deep appreciation for the role our nurses and staff play in caring for the patients and communities we’re privileged to serve," a spokesperson for Essentia Health told Becker's in an email. "While we respect our colleagues’ rights to consider unionization, we are encouraging our nurses and staff working at the Miller Hill Surgery Center and Solvay Hospice House to continue working directly with us to create the best work environment. We will follow the petition process and share information that helps our colleagues make an informed, personal choice about unionization."