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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to review Greene vs. Dayton, a case that would have undermined the right of home health care workers to unionize. It was the latest defeat for anti-union organizations challenging Minnesota law.
Members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, the union representing 26,000 home health care workers across the state, praised dismissal of the lawsuit.
“No matter how many times they try, we will not let any ideological attacks stop us from our goal of making sure ever person who wants to stay in their home receives the care they deserve,” said Robin Pikala, a mother from Fridley who is a home care worker.
“While extremist groups continue their attempts to move us backwards, we will keep fighting for things like an end to the cap on hours that seniors and people with disabilities are facing right now that is causing issues for thousands of families across the state. We know that we have a lot of work to do to create the state we want to live in. We will continue that fight until we win our goals, no matter what roadblocks anti-worker groups try to throw in our way.”
In December, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the lower court ruling in 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 bargaining representative for those workers.
The 8th Circuit Court dismissed those claims and found no basis for overturning a lower court’s ruling upholding the workers’ right to unionize. Anti-union groups then appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.