U.S. District Chief Judge Michael Davis ruled Wednesday that he will not stop the union election for thousands of Minnesota home health care workers, and the national group that tried to block the vote said it will not appeal the decision.
However, the National Right to Work Foundation, which sought a temporary injunction, said that it will continue to argue in court that the unionization effort is illegal if the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) wins the election.
Ballots will be counted next Tuesday to determine whether the union will represent nearly 27,000 personal health care workers, the largest unit in Minnesota to seek union certification since the Wagner Act was passed in 1935.
"Based on legally enacted Minnesota law, home-care providers have the right to vote in the current election to determine whether a majority desire SEIU to be their exclusive representative," Davis wrote in a 19-page decision.
Davis noted that the right-to-work group's claim is contingent on the SEIU winning the election, but the results of the election are not yet known. Hence, he said, it is not "ripe" for judicial intervention.
The organization's complaint "is not fit for judicial review because a threshold factual element of their claim is uncertain and factual development within the next few weeks may therefore obviate the need for the court to consider plaintiff's complaint," Davis wrote. "The development of other facts would also assist the court in its consideration of the complaint."
Anthony Riedel, a spokesman for the right-to-work group, said in an e-mail to the Star Tribune that it would not appeal the decision. "Because the judge's ruling was on ripeness, the providers can bring this back to the same court after the election."
Davis wrote that if the SEIU is certified as the workers' bargaining representative, the group may renew its challenge to the certification. "At this time, their challenge is premature," Davis wrote.
