For Immediate Release
July 18, 2024
Adrienne Enghouse
enghousea@yahoo.com
503-810-4489
Union Organizers Win Access Rights Illegally Denied to Them by Embattled Hospital Management
RIO RANCHO, N.M.—The University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center’s hostility to its own workers backfired again today when the executive director of the state Public Employee Labor Relations Board found the facility violated New Mexico law by illegally attempting to stop union representatives from accessing the workplace to meet with members.
“This crucial decision helps establish safer patient care by allowing us the representation we need to speak up on behalf of our patients,” said United Health Professionals of New Mexico member and MRI technician Gilbert Martinez. “Having knowledgeable union reps by our side is essential to our ability to speak up for safer patient care and helping mitigate retaliation, targeting and bullying.”
The board detailed an illegal scheme by SRMC to prevent union representatives from visiting employees in their regular workplaces by denying them entry to the premises. New Mexico state law guarantees workers the right to meet with union representatives “during the employees’ regular work hours at the employees’ regular work location to investigate and discuss grievances, workplace-related complaints and other matters relating to employment relations.” These access rights are vital in a hospital setting to ensure that workers can advocate for patient safety and uphold good healthcare practices. But the labor board found SRMC ignored them.
Despite the plain language in the statute, SRMC was actively working to prevent union representatives from talking face-to-face with workers. Finding SRMC’s actions illegal, the board ordered access to be restored and for SRMC to “cease and desist from the violation of the Public Employees Bargaining Act … and provide AFT representatives access to SRMC facilities.”
UHPNM is affiliated nationally with the 1.7 million-member AFT.
“This decision restores site access to union organizers, which is their right under state law,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “It means the hard-working healthcare workers at SRMC can get the assistance they need. These medical professionals have dedicated their lives to ensuring that patients are receiving the best care—it’s truly shameful that their employer decided to buck state law to silence their collective voice. What are they afraid of?”
“Our number one focus is safe quality patient care,” said UHPNM member and physical therapist Regina McGinnis. “Because our workplace is so toxic, we require union representatives to be present in our workplace to help us speak up and out about patient safety issues.”
UHPNM won the right to form a union more than two years ago, but SRMC has refused to come to the table to negotiate a first contract, instead using delaying tactics to stop workers from bargaining to improve patient care. The move to bar union representatives is part of a pattern and practice of hostility to the staff who do the work that makes the hospital run.
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