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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit has upheld the right of home care workers in Minnesota to have union representation, turning back arguments that such action was unconstitutional.
In a decision issued Thursday, the court upheld the lower court ruling in the case of Greene vs. Dayton, a suit against the State of Minnesota by six home care providers who opposed the unionization by workers in August 2014 with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota.
Their attorney argued that Minnesota’s law allowing collective bargaining for home health care workers is invalid because it is pre-empted by federal law. He asked the court to overturn the certification of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota as representative of 26,000 home health care workers in the state.
The 8th Circuit Court dismissed those claims and found no basis for overturning a lower court’s ruling upholding the workers’ right to unionize.
Sumer Spika, a mother from St. Paul who works in home care and is a vice president of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, said, “Today’s news of the dismissal of the lawsuit from extremists intent on destroying our union is good news for home care clients and workers in Minnesota.
“We are very excited to put this particular lawsuit behind us and continue our work to improve our industry for thousands of families across Minnesota. But we know there are other legal attacks still being made against our right to organize improved standards for home care workers and clients, including in the Bierman v. Dayton case, and we will not let any court challenge stop us from moving forward.
“Our work, done predominantly by women and people of color, has been undervalued for far too long. With our union, we are beginning to fight back and ensure that workers and the people we serve have a voice, and we won’t let any lawsuit stop us.”
The 8th Circuit also is scheduled to rule on Bierman v. Dayton, a case in which the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation argued that unionization infringed on the free speech rights of home health care workers.
Arguments on both Greene v. Dayton and Bierman v. Dayton were heard on Oct. 21.