Arizona physicians unionize at Banner Health

Outpatient clinicians at Arizona’s largest employer complain of unfair labor standards and declining patient care.PHOENIX (CN) — Outpatient clinicians at Banner Health voted Tuesday to join the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, marking the first time in Arizona history that physicians will be represented by a labor union.Tuesday’s vote comes after multiple lawsuits and years of complaints regarding unfair labor standards and declining patient care at Banner clinics across the state. The clinicians work in primary care across 31 Banner clinics in the Phoenix Valley and collectively serve more than 500,000 patients each year.Of the more than 200 physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners who voted, 149 voted in support and only 66 voted against.“As health care has transformed over the last two decades, too much has changed without the meaningful input of the physicians and advanced practice practitioners who provide patient care every day,” the Banner Health Clinicians Organizing Committee said in a statement. “By standing together, we hope to take the first step toward reclaiming professional autonomy, strengthening trust within our profession, and preserving the compassionate, patient-focused care that our communities depend on.”Clinicians say they are burnt out, overworked and underpaid. They say Banner forces providers bring hours of work home with them each night to stay caught up on their patient caseload. They also complain of a lack of autonomy — operations staff, not clinicians, now decide how much time a provider can spend with each patient, which in some cases is limited to just 15 minutes.The clinicians say the last straw came last year, when Banner Health introduced a new policy. Administrators now can dock physicians’ base pay by as much as $15,000 per year if the company doesn’t meet certain revenue goals. Before, only patient-care metrics could cut into doctor pay.“Because of our lack of autonomy and because of our patient burden, we are in a situation where it is very difficult to provide the quality of care to our patients that we want to and we are accustomed to,” Justin Watkins, a family medicine physician based in Gilbert, Arizona, said. “We need to return that to previous levels where it belongs.”Watkins was the first to initiate organizing efforts with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists in June 2025. Around the same time, another physician at his clinic filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.Syerra Lea said her managers threatened her job security after she raised concerns over a system-wide scheduling error, and forced her out just four days after she gave her 90-day notice after they learned she supported the union.The successful union vote could now open the door to negotiations over every aspect of clinicians’ employment, including workload, compensation and scheduling.Cambria Nwosu, a registered nurse in Arizona and legal consultant and patient rights advocate, said a union will give clinicians a channel to negotiate how disciplinary action is carried out in the future.“The growth of large corporate health care systems has changed where decision making power is located,” Nwosu told Courthouse News. “Unions can negotiate collectively for the entire group rather than addressing these issues individually. There’s strength in numbers.”Banner Health stood in strong opposition to the union, warning clinicians that those in power won’t be required to give credence to all voices it represents.“We respect that decision, and if the results are certified by the National Labor Relations Board we’ll consider our next steps in meeting our obligations to the union, our clinicians and the community we serve,” a Banner representative told Courthouse News. “We remain deeply committed to the culture we have built together, which is grounded in trust, respect and a shared dedication to our patients and communities. The contributions our clinicians and team members make every day are what make Banner exceptional, and that will not change.”On a webpage it set up to oppose union efforts, Banner warned that a union can make no guarantees that workplace conditions will improve.Nwosu agreed to an extent.“There are health care problems that unions alone cannot solve,” she said. “It cannot correct the workforce shortages directly or the actual inadequate infrastructure of the health care system. It can’t guarantee patient safety or replace effective clinical guidance there."“A union can change the balance of power inside the workplace,” she added. “But they cannot single handedly change the health care system that surrounds that workplace.”Bargaining can take months or even years, and Banner says it will not be able to make meaningful positive changes while under negotiations.“Banner Health, they still have a responsibility to respond to credible concerns from clinicians,” Nwosu said. “Leadership does not have to wait for a final contract to listen and make appropriate operational improvements”.On its website, Banner asserts that no law or policy requires that it ever reaches a contract agreement. In that case, Nwosu said it would be opening itself up to further legal challenges if it refuses to meet and negotiate in good faith.Registered nurses and other support staff were not involved in the vote and will not be represented by the union. One registered nurse told Courthouse News that she and other nurses at Banner won’t speak with the media for fear of employer retaliation.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads