By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Hundreds of Banner Health employees are casting ballots in a vote that could bring changes at one of the Valley’s largest health care providers. Employees are looking to unionize, citing alleged workplace and patient care concerns.
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Push stems from labor lawsuit
The push to unionize stems from an ongoing unfair labor lawsuit filed against Banner in May. A month later, a petition was filed for over 200 Banner employees seeking union representation.
Candace Napier has been a nurse practitioner at Banner Health for nearly three decades, starting with the provider before it was even known as Banner. She said the job has taken a toll over the years.
“It’s burnout. You just work so hard because ultimately, it’s the patient that we care about,” Napier said.
Provider says nonclinical staff make decisions
Napier alleged that operations staff, not clinicians, are now making decisions that critically limit the time providers can spend with patients, and that shift has made it harder to give patients the attention she said they need.
“Some people are at 15 minutes. And that’s very difficult to complete a visit and do a good job in 15 minutes,” Napier said.
Beyond the cramped schedule, Napier said practitioners are forced to bring hours of unpaid work home just to keep up with their caseloads.
“A lot of the work can’t be completed because you’re seeing patients. So, the work goes home with you. We call it pajama time,” Napier said.
Nearly 270 medical professionals voting
Napier and nearly 270 Banner medical professionals are now voting on whether to unionize. Banner officials said thousands of their clinicians call Banner a great place to work.
Sebastian Gomez, with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, said a successful union vote would open the door to negotiations over nearly every aspect of employees’ jobs.
“In terms of what’s possible, their entire employment agreement, their compensation, health care, basically all terms of their employment will be available to be negotiated,” Gomez said.
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If the union effort passes, employees will win the right to collectively bargain for workplace reforms, something Napier said has been a long time coming.
“I think that we will be able to sit at the table with Banner and share in the decision-making,” Napier said.
Banner Health responds
In a statement, Banner Health said its culture is one of its greatest strengths and that it will not allow a union organizing campaign, which it said is built on the concerns of a few, to define who the company is or how it cares for its people and patients. Banner said the claims being circulated do not reflect the experience of thousands of its clinicians and team members.
Banner pointed to its recent semiannual employee engagement survey, administered by an independent organization specializing in employee experience, in which more than 40,000 clinicians and team members spoke candidly and anonymously. According to Banner, the results show the company ranks above the 90th percentile of the healthcare industry in team members feeling heard, valued and led with honesty, and its 87% retention rate outperforms the industry average.
Banner also said an independent anonymous survey of thousands of its employees has certified Banner as a Great Place to Work for the third consecutive year, and its hospitals are recognized among the best in Arizona by Forbes and U.S. News & World Report.
The company acknowledged that burnout, staffing challenges, excessive documentation and the emotional weight of patient care are realities across the healthcare industry, but said it addresses those challenges through investment in new tools, smarter workflows and leaders held accountable for how they lead their people, not just for clinical outcomes.
“Our culture belongs to our people and the proof is in the data,” Banner said in the statement. “We are proud of the profound impact our teams make in caring for the patients and communities counting on us. We will never stop investing in the people who make Banner exceptional.”
Workers have until Aug. 26 to vote, and the final vote will be counted Sept. 2.
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