{"id":480,"date":"2026-04-14T16:14:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/?p=480"},"modified":"2026-04-14T16:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:14:00","slug":"metrohealth-primary-care-providers-seek-unionization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/?p=480","title":{"rendered":"MetroHealth primary care providers seek unionization"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-mrf-recirculation=\"ct_article_links\">\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ALTIX577HZEXXONZ7IN6BT25DY\">CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Seeking a voice in management decisions, caregivers at MetroHealth System are taking steps to unionize, organizers announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"EW4YT6KCV5EELISXDJU3WWBKAI\">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). <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"M4OJUA3AUBASJHSJVRTSV4FX64\">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. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HC6IKHH7FVE7HFWM4NVIWHLKYQ\">Dr. David Ritzenthaler said in a statement posted on the union&#8217;s Facebook page that MetroHealth&#8217;s efforts have shifted focus to increasing profits and productivity by double-booking patients for the same appointment time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"EMVRE2TEABHWZAAX4MYBHRMT3E\">&#8220;This means less time per patient, and it means primary care providers are taking work home on weekends and after hours,&#8221; Ritzenthaler said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HAFAAAKQ45HSNMLQSRDNT6OS3M\">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. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"XJKPA2IFJRDTFFHVTASRKEQJYQ\">&#8220;When primary care providers have a voice in health care decisions, we can advocate for what really matters: the patient,&#8221; de la Pena said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"53FZQOJAEZG73GDFISFZULBWF4\">When asked for comment, MetroHealth said it continues to welcome feedback from employees. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"MVP7A3AESFALVNJXV3SJ5QGBFE\">&#8220;MetroHealth appreciates our providers&#8217; dedication to our patients and our mission. Providers have meaningful opportunities to be involved in decision-making that supports patient care,&#8221; the health system said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"SIN6STXMFBAWXFJIXSIJ2RGIPY\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"D3XR6R652FFFTFSDOIHFBDJKIA\"><b>Efforts to form labor unions at medical institutions increase<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"7X5535SKOBCXVCYUWJ4TMMBVLM\">Efforts to unionize physicians and other care workers at MetroHealth mirror similar efforts at university hospitals in 2025.<b> <\/b>Two California State University pediatricians say they were fired for organizing the proposed plan.<b> <\/b>Doctors union. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"UMZTINPE6VCTVK235K23QHVNPE\">His supporters then held a rally and called on the university to reinstate him.<b> <\/b>lauren bean<b> <\/b>and Dr. Valerie Fouts Fowler, leader of a union support group called Concerned UH Physicians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"CA532AQGBBC6XAAYN6XMVZAW6Q\">University doctors said they feared their firings were a union-busting attempt aimed at intimidating other university doctors into silence. UH said otherwise. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"7BIUGMQBU5FX5N5ZCQPGQJV27U\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"QFPBXFZXKZCI5MKFKFPR5U2FBM\">However, the number of hospital union members is increasing both locally and across the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"WXMP4GPLYVAOXDF23USJXVVPKA\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"C23ORGYQMJGVBJBRLOR3O44TO4\">SEIU also represents workers at Cleveland Clinic Children&#8217;s Hospital. Other clinic employees are represented by the Ohio Nursing Association, SEIU, and the United Steelworkers of America.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"BCL2Q5ATD5EONML5336CZVSXJM\">Last spring, nurses at MetroHealth System Behavioral Health Hospital joined the Ohio Nurses Association and the American Federation of Teachers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"LK6CO5T2G5AE5DR2XC6CLVN3TM\">Other MetroHealth employees are members of various unions.<b> <\/b>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).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>#MetroHealth #primary #care #providers #seek #unionization<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 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 &#8230; <a title=\"MetroHealth primary care providers seek unionization\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/?p=480\" aria-label=\"Read more about MetroHealth primary care providers seek unionization\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[575,56,266,576,577,578,579],"class_list":["post-480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brooklyn-center-district","tag-care","tag-metrohealth","tag-primary","tag-providers","tag-seek","tag-unionization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuvla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}