M Health Fairview's 350 mental health workers are voting on whether or not to unionize.
The health workers say having a union will allow for better wages, safer working conditions and a voice in issues impacting them directly.
Mental health worker Andrea Rivas says she is still suffering from a concussion after trying to help a co-worker who was being assaulted by a patient.
Earlier this year my co-worker was being assaulted,” Rivas explained. “I tried to step in and got punched repeatedly, and am currently suffering from a concussion.”
Rivas says being a frontline worker plays a big role in their decision-making on unionizing.
“As a frontline worker we need a voice on the job so we can make sure our patients and staff are safe,” Rivas said.
There are already around 4,000 M Health Fairview workers as part of the Service Employees International Union-Healthcare Minnesota.
Since the start of the pandemic, concern has been growing for frontline health care workers about stress, fatigue, burnout, and their own mental wellness issues.
A poll in the Washington Post in April said 60% of health care workers said their mental health had been suffering since the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
Related
