Mayo's Christmas Lockout of Albert Lea Workers Deemed Illegal by Region 18 of the NLRB

Photo Credit: Union Advocate

By Filiberto Nolasco Gomez, Workday Minnesota
March 29, 2018

ALBERT LEA - A day after a one-day ULP strike at the Albert Lea Mayo Clinic (link is external) in December 2017, workers learned they would be locked out. The seven-day lockout included Christmas. Locked out workers took their energy to the picket line joined by elected officials, union and community supporters.



Wednesday the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 18 (link is external) ruled in favor of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota (link is external). The union had claimed that Mayo illegally locked workers out. The basis of the union’s charge is tied to Mayo’s claim that they locked out over over 80 workers because they needed to 'honor contracts' for replacement workers. SEIU claims that instead, Mayo hired only a handful of workers— most of whom quit before the week was over. The result was that essential work was left undone.

The one-day strike was the first in Mayo’s history. The resulting “Christmas Lockout” was the first time that healthcare workers had been locked out at Mayo in Minnesota's history.

12-year Mayo Housekeeper Heather Olson was one of the locked out workers. Olson expressed frustration at Mayo for their continued mistreatment of Albert Lea families.

FULL story: https://www.workdayminnesota.org/articles/mayos-christmas-lockout-albert-lea-workers-deemed-illegal-region-18-nlrb