Loma Linda, CA — On May 16, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that it will hold a union election for resident physicians at the Loma Linda University Health Education Consortium (LLUHEC). The ruling is the culmination of a three-month process that saw LLUHEC challenge the NLRB’s jurisdiction to oversee the unionization effort. In a hearing that took place in March and April, lawyers for LLUHEC argued that it is a Seventh-day Adventist educational institution and therefore can’t be forced to recognize a union vote. LLUHEC also made the case that resident physicians should be classified as students, not employees.
On May 31, ballots will be mailed to LLUHEC residents to vote on whether to be represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, with the ballots scheduled to be counted on June 22.