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The state Public Employees Labor Relations Board ruled Nov. 19 that UNM Hospital and the United Health Professionals NM division of the American Federation of Teachers should move forward without PRN (on-call) employees included in the bargaining unit, according to a press release from the hospital.
After years of disagreement and uncertainty, both UNM Hospital and AFT have the direction from a New Mexico District Court and the State of New Mexico Public Employees Labor Relations Board to proceed forward, “clarifying for whom public union membership is available regarding many clinical employees working at UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center – A Campus of UNM Hospital (SRMC).”
A NM District Court judge ruled Nov. 1 that PRN employees, who are freelance or temporary workers, cannot be considered regular employees of UNM Hospital under the Public Employee Bargaining Act. The ruling clarified that PRN employees are not public employees under the law and cannot be included in a bargaining unit represented by a public employees’ union.
Negotiations stalled for years over a disagreement about whether PRNs could legally be included in the bargaining unit or not. UNM Hospital long held that New Mexico’s laws did not permit freelance employees in public unions, while AFT’s leadership believed it did.
“We are grateful for the clarification because it brings resolution for our employees at SRMC,” UNM Hospital CEO Kate Becker said. “We want to do what’s right for our employees and what makes most sense for our hospital’s operations.”
In September, despite the ongoing dispute regarding the inclusion of PRN employees, UNM Hospital and AFT agreed to include language regarding PRNs in the bargaining agreement. Because the dispute about whether PRNs were eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit was still pending at the District Court, the parties agreed to include a clause requiring the parties to revisit inclusion of the PRN language once a court ruling had been received on that issue. According to the press release, “UNM Hospital now anticipates finalizing the agreement to exclude the language regarding the PRNs.”
“We wish UNM SRMC actually respected the PRNs and chose to voluntarily recognize them,” Stephanie Ly, AFT deputy senior director of organizing and field services, said. “We have appealed the case, and in the meantime, we will continue to fight to ensure their voices are part of the solution for improving patient care.”
The tentative agreement reached through the bargaining process gave a 3% pay increase to both regular and PRN employees, which went into effect Oct. 13. Those pay raises will remain in effect for both groups of employees.
“I’m grateful to everyone who has worked so hard on this effort. Our employees have been patient through this long and complicated process,” SRMC President Jamie Silva-Steele said. “This clarification will allow our team to move forward as we continue our mission of providing high-quality and safe care to our patients and our community.”
