Last fall, the burgeoning CVS and Walgreens employee walkouts highlighted how the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is edging into healthcare by organizing retail pharmacy professionals. This poaching might sound as out-of-left-field as the United Auto Workers’ aggressive posturing in higher education over the past few years, and you’d have a point if you thought so. However, unions are not above taking advantage of worker dissatisfaction in particularly stressed industries, and healthcare qualifies in that department.
Please make no mistake: Unions are fretting over their longevity amid a period of the lowest union density in U.S. history. The poaching practices are about surviving, not about adequately representing workers.
Let’s say that this union has a long way to go in that regard. The IAM Healthcare union self-reported membership stands at 12,000+, only a sliver of the union’s claimed total of 700,000 workers from other industries.
IAM Healthcare cannot be written off as a concern. The union recently added almost 1,000 workers from an Ohio State University medical center, and they still have their eyes on a sizable bounty of frustrated pharmacy workers working at the intersection of healthcare and retail. Additionally, the union recently hired a pair of seasoned organizers in an attempt to go all-in on this field.
The current union poaching trend illustrates how IAM and the UAW are pulling out all the stops to diversify their portfolio by capitalizing upon worker unease in industries beyond their usual fare. It’s also a reminder never to stop fostering an environment where workers feel comfortable expressing concerns to leadership. Like unions, employers must maintain an open mind and diversify their skill sets in open communication.
A few more odds and ends from the healthcare industry:
- 1,000 nursing home workers in Minnesota’s Twin Cities went on a “historic” one-day strike that pulled at least 25% of area staffers off the job at a dozen facilities. The workers are asking for $25 minimum pay, improved benefits, and safer working conditions. This SEIU-led strike is also happening in conjunction with several same-union strikes in the Twin Cities area. That included 4,000 janitors in the same metropolitan area, and 4,000 Minneapolis teachers are gearing up for a strike later this month.
- Two Ascension hospitals (in Texas and Michigan) saw nurses reach deals that included raises ranging from 11% to 30%, depending upon the role.
- The University of Chicago nurses called off strike plans after management reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with National Nurses United.
Seeing non-traditional unions like the IAM targeting healthcare raises the heat in an already challenging healthcare industry.
