Share
A group of cashiers at the Saint Marys and Methodist campuses of Mayo Clinic Hospital, employed by Morrison Healthcare, voted unanimously to join SEIU Healthcare Minnesota.
The vote was counted Tuesday evening, with nearly 90 percent of the eligible workers casting ballots. All of the votes were to join the union. The unanimous victory was the third election of Morrison employees to join SEIU Healthcare Minnesota within the last year.
The cashiers are part of a wave of workers at Mayo hospitals who have joined SEIU Healthcare Minnesota following the controversial decision last year to outsource hundreds of longtime employees to Morrison, a move that was met with a pushback by workers, patients and the entire Rochester community.
Ida Bush, a Morrison employee who has worked at Mayo as a cashier for 23 years, shared why her group became the latest to unionize following the outsourcing move.
“I felt that we needed a voice at work, and I want the same opportunities that people in the union have had,” said Bush. “We all deserve to be treated fairly!”
Workers in the other new SEIU bargaining units have seen big gains and stronger workplace protections since joining the union. The new bargaining unit of 26 cashiers will send requests for bargaining dates once the election is officially certified.
SEIU Healthcare Minnesota represents more than 35,000 healthcare and long-term care workers in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and home care throughout the state of Minnesota.