After failed union vote, vows to ‘rebuild’

Provider seeking to restore ‘trust that was broken’ amid year of cuts, staff turnover

La Familia Health employees have rejected an effort to form a union.

Nurses and other support staff of the local medical care organization voted 48-27 Wednesday against unionizing, said Yolanda Ulmer, district vice president of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees District 1199NM.

“We had felt really good about it,” Ulmer said. “We had a number of meetings with employees. [La Familia] hired union-busting people. They put on a good show.”

La Familia brought in a human resources expert on contracts “to educate employees ... about what it meant to be part of a union, and part of a union in New Mexico,” said Jasmin Milz, chief development officer and spokeswoman for La Familia.

“He was not a union buster,” she added.

A group of La Familia’s non-doctor staff approached District 1199NM in August and filed with the National Labor Relations Board on Nov. 8 to form a union. To call for a union vote required 30% of the eligible staff to sign a petition; a majority vote in favor was required to approve the union.

District 1199NM worked with 98 employees, including nurses, medical assistants, dental assistants, information technology staff, patient services representatives, lab personnel, billing specialists and other support staff, Ulmer said.

“We wish them luck,” Ulmer said. “They have to consider they are at-will employees.”

It has been a year of upheaval at La Familia, which has operated at a financial deficit since 2013. A new CEO was hired to rein in financial woes and then fired as numerous doctors left the clinic. La Familia treats 15,000 patients a year — nearly 40% of them uninsured — regardless of income, insurance, legal status or ability to pay.

The doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners and midwives formed a union Sept. 27 with a 16-1 vote. Contract negotiations between doctors and management are ongoing.

“Negotiations have been going well,” Milz said. “After the holidays, we will meet more, two or three times a week.”

La Familia announced Oct. 11 salaried employees earning more than $20 per hour would see a 10% pay cut in November or work 10% fewer hours after an 8% increase in expenses forced the health care provider to slash its budget from $20.6 million to $18.6 million.

La Familia, which has 180 employees in four locations, also imposed 17 layoffs.

“We thank our employees for their trust,” Milz said. “We have to move forward and figure out how best to rebuild. We want to rebuild the trust that was broken since February [when Julie Wright was brought in as CEO]. We appreciate their trust and willingness to work with us. All we can do is

promise to be honest, transparent and show them the books.”

In early November, La Familia announced an emergency $1 million fundraising campaign to keep its four locations open.

“The community is rallying with us,” Milz said. “We’ve raised about $240,000, solely from individual donors.”