After years of disagreement and uncertainty, both UNM Hospital and the United Health Professionals NM division of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have the direction from a New Mexico District Court and the State of New Mexico Public Employees Labor Relations Board (PELRB) to proceed forward, clarifying for whom public union membership is available regarding many clinical employees working at UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center – A Campus of UNM Hospital (SRMC).
On Nov. 1, 2024, a NM District Court judge ruled that that PRN (pro re nata) employees, which are freelance or temporary workers, cannot be considered “regular employees” of UNM Hospital under the Public Employee Bargaining Act (PEBA). The ruling clarified that PRN employees are not “public employees” under the law and cannot be included in a bargaining unit represented by a public employees’ union.
Adding extra clarity, on November 19, 2024, the PELRB ruled that UNM Hospital and AFT should move forward without PRNs included in the bargaining unit.
These two decisions are particularly important because negotiations were stalled for years over a disagreement about whether PRNs could legally be included in the bargaining unit or not. UNM Hospital long held that New Mexico’s laws did not permit freelance employees in public unions, while AFT’s leadership believed it did.
“We are grateful for the clarification because it brings resolution for our employees at SRMC. We want to do what’s right for our employees and what makes most sense for our hospital’s operations.”
In September 2024, despite the ongoing dispute regarding their inclusion, UNM Hospital and AFT agreed to come to the bargaining table by conditionally agreeing to include language regarding PRNs in the bargaining agreement. Because the dispute over whether PRNs were eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit was still pending at the District Court, the parties agreed to include a clause requiring the parties to revisit inclusion of the PRN language once a court ruling had been received on that issue. UNM Hospital now anticipates finalizing the agreement to exclude the language regarding the PRNs.
The tentative agreement that was reached through this bargaining process gave a 3% pay increase to both regular and PRN employees that went into effect on October 13, 2024. Those pay raises will remain in effect for both groups of employees.
“I’m grateful to everyone who has worked so hard on this effort. Our employees have been patient through this long and complicated process. This clarification will allow our team to move forward as we continue our mission of providing high-quality and safe care to our patients and our community.”
Note about SRMC:
When AFT first filed a petition to unionize, SRMC was a nonprofit hospital within the UNM Health System with the business name “UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center, Inc.” Effective January 1, 2024, the Regents of the University of New Mexico, for its Public Operations Known as the University of New Mexico Hospital (“UNM Hospital”), acquired UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center, Inc.
UNM Hospital now operates SRMC as “UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center - A Campus of UNM Hospital.”
With its acquisition, UNM Hospital assumed the former nonprofit hospital’s role in responding to AFT’s organizational drive.