A group of Valley primary care physicians and advanced practice providers who work for Phoenix-based Banner Health have voted in favor of unionizing.
The deadline for voting was Aug. 26, and the votes were
tallied Sept. 2 at the National Labor Relations Board's offices in Phoenix. Nearly 70% of the votes tallied voted yes: The final count was 149-66 in favor of unionizing, said Dr. Justin Watkins, a Gilbert primary care provider who works for Banner Health and helped start the unionizing effort about 18 months ago.
The "yes" vote is an historic one: It is the first union to form within Banner Health, which is the largest health system in Arizona and one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the country. It's also the first time physicians in Arizona have been part of a union, Watkins said.
Banner Health officials said Sept. 2 they respect the group's decision to unionize and if the results are certified by the National Labor Relations Board, "we'll consider our next steps in meeting our obligations to the union, our clinicians and the community we serve," according to an emailed statement from company spokesperson Meghan Dooley.
The company had urged employees to vote no on unionization "so Banner can remain strong as one team."
'I certainly hope that it inspires other physicians and providers'
As long as the results are certified, about 268 primary care doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants (also known as physician associates) who work for Banner Medical Group in the Valley will be represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, UAPD, which is part of AFSCME and the AFL-CIO.
Providers in favor of unionization say they need limits on patient numbers and improved clinical support to avoid excessive work that is compromising patient care and causing burnout and high turnover. The providers say that non-clinical executives are making too many decisions about health care delivery without input from the front-line workers providing the care. They also want to be protected from retaliation by Banner Health leadership.
They say patient care will improve if physicians and advanced practice providers are able to see their patients in a timely manner, and if the providers aren't stressed and overworked.
"I certainly hope that it inspires other physicians and providers to look at whether they feel they are being treated fairly and to consider unionization as a legitimate option that can succeed, since we've just demonstrated that it can," Watkins said after the votes were tallied.
"We only represent the outpatient primary care clinicians, so there are lots of other groups with different contracts with Banner that are not part of our group, and we've certainly heard from some of those people."
Providers want more autonomy in how they care for patients
Banner Health has locations in multiple states, but Arizona comprises its largest workforce, with about 46,700 employees statewide as of 2025. Banner Health in 2025 was the largest nongovernment employer in the state, according to rankings from The Arizona Republic.
"I hope it spreads to Banner and beyond. A lot of groups out there don't try to out-compete Banner when it comes to pay and benefits and how many patients you see, workflow. Because of how large they are, they set the bar," Watkins said.
Watkins said he expects that by unionizing, providers will have more autonomy in how they care for patients, in how many patients they are expected to care for, and that they will no longer be required to do unpaid work. He hopes the vote serves as an example that unionizing is possible in Right-to-Work states.
"We're proud to show that," he said.
Candace Napier, a nurse practitioner who works for Banner Health in Sun City West, said she was "exhilarated" by the vote. Napier has been a Banner Health employee going back to when the nonprofit was formed out of a merger between Samaritan Health System and Lutheran Health System in 1999.
"It's a good fight and it's worth winning," she said. "We can't allow non-clinical people to tell providers what they can do."
In the statement it issued Sept. 2, Banner Health said that the company remains "deeply committed to the culture we have built together, which is grounded in trust, respect and a shared dedication to our patients and communities."
Reach health-care reporter Stephanie Innes at stephanie.innes@usatodayco.com or follow her on X: @stephanieinnes or on Bluesky: @stephanieinnes.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'We're proud.' Banner Health providers in Arizona vote to unionize
