Union employees at Stillwater Medical Group voted Monday to ratify an agreement with HealthPartners, just a week after voting to authorize another unfair labor practices strike.
Ninety-five percent of the members of SEIU Healthcare MN & IA, which consists of more than 80 workers including licensed practical nurses, certified medical assistants and other service-unit health care positions in the family medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics and specialties departments at the clinic, voted to ratify the agreement. SEIC officials said the new agreement includes 10.5% raises over the three-year life of the contract, the largest across-the-board wage increase the group has ever won; increases in longevity bonuses; increased differentials when members pick up open shifts; and new nondiscrimination language.
In July, the workers went on strike for four days.
“We are proud of today’s vote that ratifies our new contract,” said Ellie Conway, a certified medical assistant and member of the SEIU bargaining team at Stillwater Medical Group. “Because we stuck together and showed our collective power, we were able to win real gains that will benefit both ourselves and our patients. As we look forward, we know that we still have more work to do and will begin right away to build towards our next contract fight to be ready to win even more.”
A spokesman for HealthPartners said last week that the company was “pleased to have reached a fair and financially responsible resolution. We value our SEIU-represented colleagues and their commitment to our patients.”
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