Mayo Clinic gains fame – for the wrong reasons

Earlier this month, Mayo Clinic basked in the news it was ranked No. 1 on the “Best Hospitals Honor Roll.” But Wednesday, the health care giant garnered publicity of a different sort as protestors, including state legislators, raised questions about its plan to contract out food service operations.

Mayo Clinic, Minnesota’s largest private sector employer, is internationally known. In early August, U.S. News & World Report honored it as the best hospital in the country, edging out one of its rivals, the Cleveland Clinic.

Workers and community members who picketed outside St. Marys Hospital in Rochester Wednesday said that reputation could be tarnished if Mayo contracts out its food service operations, a move that would affect 700 workers and their families, thousands of patients and ultimately the entire community.

“Making sure people not only have a decent meal, but a person who cares about the patients delivering that meal – that is an important function in a hospital, as important as the nurses and the doctors,” said state Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, who is also a registered nurse.

“When a business decision up in a boardroom subverts or neglects the impact on people’s lives in a community, you break the relationship … and that is what is at stake in this fight.”

Wednesday’s picket, the first at a Mayo Clinic facility in decades, saw a crowd of several hundred calling for Mayo to reconsider its plan to outsource food service operations to Morrison Healthcare, a multinational corporation based in Atlanta.

In announcing its plan, Mayo said it “will allow us to deliver consistent and enhanced food and nutrition options to our patients, visitors and staff.”

The 700 food service workers, who altogether have more than 5,000 years of experience at Mayo, disagree with that assessment.

“We do an important job at a very high level to make sure our patients have a good experience. If our jobs are sub-contracted, we are concerned that it will change everything,” said Theresa Burke, a food service worker for 34 years.

“We also are concerned about our families. If our health insurance doubles, will I be able to take care of health issues that come up? We are out here today because we believe the best thing for everyone would be Mayo revisiting this decision.”

Earlier this month, a delegation of food service workers delivered a petition signed by over 1,200 Mayo employees to Mayo HR, and last week an ad ran in the Rochester Post-Bulletin showcasing the growing support of Minnesota elected officials who are calling on Mayo to revisit their outsourcing decision.

The workers are represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, which met with Mayo executives Monday and offered a compromise to resolve the crisis.

The compromise called on Mayo to continue to employ all the current workers if it decides to subcontract. At the same time, the union offered a training grant of up to $25,000 to train employees “to ensure the highest quality service on day one.”

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota President Jamie Gulley said, “We believe that our offer is a ‘win-win’ for both Mayo and the food service workers who are concerned about what outsourcing their jobs would mean for their families and communities.”

In addition to Murphy, state Representatives Tim Mahoney and Tina Liebling joined Wednesday’s protest. They said Mayo’s subcontracting raises questions about its commitment to creating good jobs – a commitment the company made when it asked state and local taxpayers to provide $585 million needed for its goal to become a “destination medical center.”

“When they outsource 700 jobs, they should be ashamed of themselves,” said Mahoney, a DFLer from St. Paul.

Liebling, who represents Rochester, said she has urged Mayo to reconsider its plan.

“When people around the state see this happening … it makes it a lot tougher for me to go up and pitch Mayo’s cause,” she said. “This is something Mayo needs to take into account.”