Union health care workers in Rochester get big wage wins, limits on overtime

Rochester-area health care union workers at Mayo Clinic Hospital, St. Marys Campus, are celebrating after they made significant contract gains with Mayo Clinic over the weekend.

SEIU Healthcare announced that a three-person arbitration board ruled that 1,600 union workers at St. Marys, which include certified technicians, personal care attendants, patient escorts and maintenance workers, among others, will get at least $20 per hour, with increases over the next three years that bring people to almost $22 per hour at minimum.

The new agreement also includes pay backdated to April 2024 and a limit on mandatory overtime to 18 hours.

“These wage increases are some of the biggest we’ve ever seen, and the back pay is going to be amazing for so many people,” said Kirsten Schultz, a personal care attendant at Mayo.

Union workers at St. Marys were locked in negotiations with Mayo Clinic for more than a year, turning to arbitration last fall. Union members say this was the first time they had to find a mediator for their agreement.

Mayo Clinic officials said in a statement the arbitration agreement largely adopted Mayo’s wage proposals, as well as pay for union members at nearby Mayo Clinic Hospital, Methodist Campus. Mayo officials also highlighted wage adjustments for nonunion staff over the last three years, with higher increases for workers earning $22 or less an hour.

“While we believe Mayo Clinic and SEIU would have reached similar results around key issues much sooner had SEIU allowed the bargaining process to continue, we are focused on moving forward with our shared goal of providing world-class patient care,” officials said. “We value and appreciate our staff for their contributions.”

Mayo Methodist workers’ contracts expired in January after a one-year deal that gave most union members there a similar $20 per hour minimum wage.

Union workers say bargaining with Mayo leadership has become more difficult over the past decade, as Mayo has offered raises that haven’t kept up with cost-of-living increases while the medical giant has struggled with staffing problems.

Many workers say they’ve taken on too much overtime and feel overworked in some departments, leading to concerns over patient care and worker burnout.