MaineHealth Interpreters Vote Unanimously to Form Union; the Second Successful Effort at Healthcare Network in Two Years

Medical Interpreters at MaineHealth, the largest health-care network in the state, have voted unanimously to form a union with the Maine Service Employees Association (MSEA-SEIU Local 1989). The interpreters voted 29 to 0 in a mail ballot election counted by the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday. The workers will become the second group of MaineHealth employees to unionize in recent years, joining Maine Medical Center Nurses, who formed a union with the Maine State Nurses Association (MSNA) in 2021.

Interpreters announced their intention to organize together and filed for a union election on April 24th.

“We are coming together as MaineHealth interpreters for respect, equality, a fair wage, and a real voice,” the group wrote in their announcement. “As interpreters facilitating communication between our patients and providers, we are also advocates, health system navigators, and cultural brokers. By forming our union today, we will make sure that our jobs are sustainable for ourselves and for interpreters who follow in our footsteps.”

Rye Ma, a Mandarin, French, and Spanish interpreter at MaineHealth, said that she voted yes “for my colleagues, myself, and future generations of interpreters.”

Workers say they are determined to use their union to fight for improvements that will make their jobs more sustainable. "We are all facing a cost-of-living crisis,” said Silvia Senosk, French and Spanish interpreter at MaineHealth. “Renting an apartment in Portland is practically impossible or comes with lots of limitations and sacrifices. As a union, we will work to win higher wages that allow us to live in the city we work in.”

Maintaining a strong core of in-person interpretation service-providers is also critical for patient comfort and safety, according to Sandra Ricker, a Spanish interpreter at MaineHealth. Said Ricker, “we are standing together for ourselves and for the patients we serve. When we have a voice, then they have a voice.”

In the coming weeks, United Maine Health Interpreters will be celebrating the election victory and preparing for the collective bargaining process together.