Welcome to the Nurse Movement!
In order to succeed, there are 3 important
actions you can take right now:
The only constant in healthcare is change, and by choosing to join with
nurses and APPs across the hospital, you are one step closer to having a real
voice in what happens at work and in our profession.
Once a clear majority of us have united to form a union with SEIU Healthcare
Pennsylvania, UPMC corporate will have to consult and negotiate with us
before making any changes to our working conditions.
Watch our 60 Second video to learn how we get there!
2.* Share this letter with 5 of your coworkers, and
invite them to join you.
- Make sure to tell them why you signed, and why you
think it's important they do too!
Example: I’ve decided not to wait any longer for administration to
work with us to make real improvements. That’s why I’m calling on
UPMC to sit down and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement —
will you join me by signing this petition too?
- 1.*Sign up for a 20 minute union orientation so you
can learn about the process and ask any questions
you have. - You should have received a text with a link to the cell
phone number you shared with us, but if not, you can
schedule one using the links below.
3.* Share you/your department’s top priorities for
contract negotiations using the survey below.
Select up to 10 responses.
Click here to join our Facebook group!
In the meantime, we have set up this page to be a resource for you!
We will be reaching out periodically to provide you updates on progress and
what you can do to help, when we are meeting, and what the next steps are
along the way to contract negotiations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will we be able to accomplish by forming a union?
Today, if you want to make improvements you can raise them with your supervisor, you can fill out surveys, or you can
participate in Professional Practice Councils. Hospital workers form unions when they decide those avenues are dead-ends.
Forming a union gives you a seat at the table with hospital decision makers, the administrators and executives, to negotiate a
legally binding contract that holds our employer accountable to us and to our patients.
Working together as a union, nurses have made significant improvements in staffing, nurse and patient safety, equipment,
and nurse pay and benefits, and have ensured a professional voice in system wide changes before they happen. Union nurses
can advocate for themselves and their patients without fear of retaliation.
Change doesn’t happen overnight, but particularly in health systems run by insurance companies, care is only improved when
nurses share decision making power with corporate.
Why do members pay dues?
Dues are the resources that run the work of the union; we all pitch in together across the state to support contract bargaining
and enforcement and ensure that we have access to the resources we need to hold healthcare corporations accountable to
raising standards. Dues also support nurses who are trying to form a union, because the more nurses are united, the more
effective advocates we will be. No one pays dues until after nurses vote to approve their contract.
As a democratic organization of, for, and by nurses and healthcare workers, dues are set by the membership of the union.
Dues are 1.8% of our straight time (not including overtime) plus $1 per month, with a minimum of $21 and a cap of $102 per
month.
Does the union include casual or weekend nurses?
Yes. Hospitals rely on a mix of full time, part time and casual or per diem nurses to run and all nurses deserve safe, sustainable
working conditions.
How does a nurses’ union affect our relationship with our supervisors?
The organizing period can be stressful, but after you win, life returns to normal. You’ll still work directly with your managers
every day, but you’ll have an additional vehicle for raising concerns when that doesn’t work. The choice to form a union isn’t a
personal critique of anyone - although sometimes at first they think it is. The fact is front-line supervisors are not in
negotiations because they do not have the power to address your concerns.
Who makes decisions in our union?
You do. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is an organization of, for and by nurses and other healthcare workers, and when you
form your chapter of the union, you make decisions together about what your priorities are and what you are willing to do to
achieve them.
Nurses and Advanced Practitioners from every department and kind of nursing sit on the negotiating committee and talk
directly with administration and with each other, and once you’ve secured your contract, you will be trained to enforce it and
assigned an organizer to help you.
Have a question? Ask a union nurse!
Know your rights!
Employee Rights
Employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act are afforded certain rights to join together to improve their
wages and working conditions, with or without a union.
Interference with Employee Rights
Employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act have the right to join together to improve their wages and
working conditions, with or without a union. When an employer or union interfere with these rights, it is an unfair labor
practice, and it violates the National Labor Relations Act.
Employer/Union Rights and Obligations
The National Labor Relations Act imposes obligations on both employers and unions to ensure that employees can
freely exercise their rights relating to organizing, forming, joining or assisting a labor organization for collective
bargaining purposes, working together to improve their terms and conditions of employment, or refraining from any
such activity.
Your Right to Discuss Wages
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or the Act), employees have the right to communicate with other
employees at their workplace about their wages. Wages are a vital term and condition of employment, and
discussions of wages are often preliminary to organizing or other actions for mutual aid or protection.
The Right to Request Representation During an Investigatory Interview (Weingarten Rights)
Among the rights protected by Section 7 is the right of union-represented employees, upon request, to have their
representative present during an interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.
Retaliation Based on Exercise of Workplace Rights Is Unlawful
Employees are protected in seeking enforcement of labor and employment laws. U.S. laws prohibit employers from
retaliating against workers for exercising their workplace rights, regardless of the workers’ immigration status.
Issued by Magee Nurses and Advanced Practitioners United and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania | 2025
Magee-Womens Nurses and
Advanced Practitioners United