Healthcare workers at the Mayo Clinic Health System in St. James, Minn., have voted to remove the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 65 as their bargaining representative.
The vote was 15-2 in favor of decertification of the union, with the tally of ballots on July 21 and the certification of results on July 27, according to the National Labor Relations Board website.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 65 has represented about 20 workers at the Mayo Clinic Health System in St. James. Mayo Clinic Health System, part of Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, has facilities in Southern Minnesota, Western Wisconsin and Northern Iowa.
The decertification vote came after workers signed a petition seeking an election, which was filed by Heather Youngwirth, RN, with the National Labor Relations Board with assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, according to an Aug. 1 foundation news release. The foundation is a nonprofit with a mission "to eliminate coercive union power and compulsory unionism abuses through strategic litigation, public information and education programs." It also assisted nurses at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, Minn., who voted in July to remove the Minnesota Nurses Association as their bargaining representative.
The union had not responded to Becker's Hospital Review's request for comment as of the afternoon of Aug. 1.
The Mayo Clinic Health System in St. James, in a statement shared with Becker's, said: "The National Labor Relations Board has certified the results of the vote by Mayo Clinic Health System in St. James nurses to no longer be represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council. The effort to decertify from AFSCME was staff-led, and we look forward to working with the nurses directly."