State Supreme Court will not weigh in on UW Health nurses' unionization efforts
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday said it would not take up a case filed by a Wisconsin health care system seeking clarity on whether it could voluntarily recognize its nurses' unions.
The court's decision halts an attempt by the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority to bypass lower state courts in deciding whether voluntary union recognition is allowed under state law.
“We applaud the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny UW Health’s petition to review whether our union can be voluntarily recognized," UW Health Nurses United, SEIU Wisconsin, said in a statement. "UW Health attempted to circumvent the regular legal process by filing directly at the Supreme Court to try to take advantage of a conservative majority."
The court's decision has no impact on a ruling issued by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission in late November that found that UWHCA, which includes UW Health hospital, is not legally required to recognize its nurses union and collectively bargain for a contract under Wisconsin law.
The nurses union, SEIU Wisconsin, has appealed that decision in Dane County Circuit Court.
The health care system, on the other hand, petitioned the State Supreme Court on Dec. 9, for "an expedited decision on whether the health system is able to voluntarily recognize a union for the purpose of collective bargaining," following the commission's ruling, said Emily Greendonner, a UW Health spokesperson.
"While the high court declined to take that issue directly through an expedited process this month, both SEIU and UW Health continue to pursuelegal, definitive and expeditious answers to these questions," Greendonner said.
The commission's ruling reaffirmed a position that the hospital system has maintained since Act 10 was passed in 2011, which drastically reduced union power and collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin; it is not legally required to recognize its nurses union and collectively bargain for a contract under Wisconsin law.
The hospital still is seeking a ruling on whether union recognition can be voluntary.
However, due to an agreement brokered by Gov. Tony Evers in September that averted a three-day strike by the nurses union, the hospital will "recognize" the nurses union by allowing them to actively recruit members at the hospital and openly talk about union activities.
The agreement also included regular "meet and discuss" meetings between the union members and top hospital administrators, a key win for the nurses who want to improve staffing ratios and address nursing shortages.
Those activities can continue despite the court's decision announced Monday.
The agreement that averted the strike is legally binding until Sept. 1, 2025, or six months after all legal avenues have been exhausted to determine if UW Health is required to recognize and collectively bargain with employee unions and, if it is not required to, if the hospital can do so voluntarily.
This is the first time any of these types of activities have occurred at the hospital since the passage of Act 10 and the nurses' union contract expiring in 2014.
Following the commission's November decision, UW Nurses United said it would appeal the commission's decision through the courts and petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board, meaning all legal routes have not been exhausted.
Nurses seeking a union argued that despite Act 10, the hospital still had the ability to voluntarily recognize its union. Justices Patience Roggensack and Rebecca Bradley dissented, opposing the court's decision to not take up the case but did not file written opinions.
Madison-based University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority includes UW Health, several clinics in the greater Madison area, East Madison Hospital and the American Family Children's Hospital. It employs 3,400 nurses, with the union estimated to include up to 2,600 nurses.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court declines to hear UW Health nurse union case
