CLEVELAND, Ohio — Seeking a voice in management decisions, caregivers at MetroHealth System are taking steps to unionize, organizers announced Tuesday.
The proposed MetroHealth Primary Care Provider Coalition would be a chapter of AFSCME Ohio Council 8, organizers said. The union will include MetroHealth physicians, physician assistants and advanced practice nurse practitioners (APRNs).
Organizers said in an email that primary care providers want quality care and a health care system that puts patients first and are working to unionize.
Dr. David Ritzenthaler said in a statement posted on the union’s Facebook page that MetroHealth’s efforts have shifted focus to increasing profits and productivity by double-booking patients for the same appointment time.
“This means less time per patient, and it means primary care providers are taking work home on weekends and after hours,” Ritzenthaler said. “I am an advocate for unions to give us a voice so we can advocate for the time and quality care we can provide to our patients.”
Family nurse practitioner Heather de la Pena said in another video on her Facebook page that spending more time with patients improves patient outcomes and satisfaction.
“When primary care providers have a voice in health care decisions, we can advocate for what really matters: the patient,” de la Pena said.
When asked for comment, MetroHealth said it continues to welcome feedback from employees.
“MetroHealth appreciates our providers’ dedication to our patients and our mission. Providers have meaningful opportunities to be involved in decision-making that supports patient care,” the health system said.
Union organizers will hold a rally and press conference on April 28 at 6 p.m. at 2401 South Point Drive in Cleveland. Parking is located across the street from MetroHealth Glick Center.
Efforts to form labor unions at medical institutions increase
Efforts to unionize physicians and other care workers at MetroHealth mirror similar efforts at university hospitals in 2025. Two California State University pediatricians say they were fired for organizing the proposed plan. Doctors union.
His supporters then held a rally and called on the university to reinstate him. lauren bean and Dr. Valerie Fouts Fowler, leader of a union support group called Concerned UH Physicians.
University doctors said they feared their firings were a union-busting attempt aimed at intimidating other university doctors into silence. UH said otherwise.
Only about 13% of U.S. health care workers are unionized, according to a 2022 study published in JAMA. According to the study, about 17.5% of nurses belong to a union, as do 9.8% of doctors and dentists and 9.9% of technicians and support staff.
However, the number of hospital union members is increasing both locally and across the country.
In 2023, union staff at Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital voted to approve a new three-year contract. SEIU District 1199 has 170 employees, including maintenance workers, electricians, mechanics, and nursing assistants.
SEIU also represents workers at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital. Other clinic employees are represented by the Ohio Nursing Association, SEIU, and the United Steelworkers of America.
Last spring, nurses at MetroHealth System Behavioral Health Hospital joined the Ohio Nurses Association and the American Federation of Teachers.
Other MetroHealth employees are members of various unions. These include the Fraternal Order of Police, the Ohio Patrol Benevolent Association (OPBA), the Ohio Nurses Association, the Teamsters, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
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