Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin workers vote to unionize

Workers at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin have voted to form a union under the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, according to the initial tally of election results.

The vote was 56-13 in favor of forming a union, according to a tally of ballots cast in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board and counted on Thursday. Of the 133 Planned Parenthood workers eligible to vote in the election, 69 cast a ballot, according to a press release.

“With the care of employees and patients at the center or our collective work, we intend to build a good working relationship as we navigate the next steps together in support of our employees," said a joint statement Friday by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President and CEO Tanya Atkinson and by Connie Smith, president of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

The National Labor Relations Board is expected to certify the election in the next week.

The vote by the Planned Parenthood workers comes amid rising interest in unionization, including among health care workers, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many health care workers experienced difficulty getting personal protective equipment and testing and struggled with high workloads and stress from staffing shortages, among other challenges.

"While healthcare workers are struggling through unprecedented challenges, many are coming together to improve their lives and better care for their patients by forming a union," Smith said in a separate statement issued by the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

Once the votes are certified, the union will survey its members to understand their bargaining priorities and begin talks with Planned Parenthood to negotiate a contract, said Jamie Lucas, executive director of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

The employees eligible to be part of the union include staff who work in Planned Parenthood's 22 centers in Wisconsin, Lucas said. They are clinicians, assistants, patient care coordinators and other staff who work with patients, he said.

Lucas said that Planned Parenthood workers came to a turning point in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning constitutional right to an abortion.

"They felt that their voices should be more prominent in the way that decisions were made in the organization," Lucas said in an interview. "The Dobbs decision and the pandemic highlighted that when changes are made quickly, they weren’t as involved as they wanted to be."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin workers vote to unionize