Minnesota nurses vote out MNA union officials at multiple Mayo Clinic branches

Despite this, both types of states allow unions to negotiate contracts that apply equally to all employees in a bargaining unit, including those who did not support or vote for the union.

The recent outcome in Fairmont follows similar votes elsewhere in Minnesota. In 2022, nurses at Mayo Clinic’s Mankato location also voted out the MNA with legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation. Later that year, staff at Mayo’s St. James branch removed AFSCME Council 65 as their representative. In 2023, support staff at Mankato ousted American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1856.

Commenting on these developments, Jamie Campbell said: “The MNA was a very divisive force in our workplace, and I think we’ll be able to better serve our patients and the community without the union.”

National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens added: “MNA union bosses’ influence and political connections did not shield them from suffering another defeat by rank-and-file nurses at the ballot box.” He continued: “Ironically, Minnesota’s lack of Right to Work protections — which are vociferously opposed by the MNA — likely removed an important accountability tool from the relationship between the MNA and the nurses they claim to ‘represent.’ It’s no surprise that union bosses who can force workers to pay union dues or fees on pain of termination wind up being far less effective and more out-of-touch than union officials who must earn the voluntary financial support of each worker.”

In previous statements about earlier votes against her organization’s leadership, former MNA president Mary Turner said: “They’re going to have to prove to us that they want the union because they lost it.”

These events highlight ongoing tensions over mandatory union membership and dues among healthcare workers in Minnesota.