🗞️ Stanford Radiation Therapists Cleared to Vote on Joining SEIU Union
A federal labor official ruled that 23 Stanford Health Care radiation therapists share enough common ground with an existing union unit to hold a vote on joining it, setting up a July 8 election.
The National Labor Relations Board's Region 32 office has directed an election that will let radiation therapists at Stanford Health Care decide whether to join an existing bargaining unit represented by Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers West. The ruling, issued by Acting Regional Director Hokulani Valencia on June 18, 2026, resolves a dispute over whether roughly two dozen therapists in the hospital's radiation oncology department belong in the same unit as social workers and other nonprofessional service employees already represented by the union.
The case turned on the Board's "Armour Globe" doctrine, which allows an unrepresented group of workers to hold a self determination election to join a related bargaining unit rather than form a standalone one. Stanford argued the therapists were too organizationally distinct, noting they work in their own department, are separately supervised, and fall well outside the pay range of existing unit members. The union countered that therapists interact daily with unionized employees such as anesthesia technicians, MRI technicians, and social workers, and rely on them to deliver patient care.
Valencia found the balance of evidence favored a community of interest, citing frequent work related contact, shared training and certification requirements, and significant functional integration between the therapists and existing unit employees, even though the two groups are not commonly supervised below the vice president level and do not share comparable pay. The decision, reported by Law360 and NLRB Edge, sets the stage for a mail and in person vote scheduled for July 8, 2026, with either side retaining the right to seek Board review of the underlying decision.
Key Points
- The petitioned for unit consists of about 23 full time, part time, and per diem radiation therapists at Stanford's 300 Pasteur Drive campus in Palo Alto.
- SEIU UHW sought to add the therapists to an existing unit that includes several social work classifications along with nonprofessional employees performing service and patient care functions across four Stanford facilities, under a collective bargaining agreement running through September 2026.
- Stanford Health Care contested the petition, arguing the therapists lack a sufficient community of interest with the existing unit.
- Of the six community of interest factors the Board examined, three favored the union (work related contact, similarity of skills and functions, and functional integration), two favored Stanford (separate department organization and lack of common supervision below the vice president level), and one, pay and benefits, was deemed neutral.
- The election is scheduled for July 8, 2026, at Stanford's Palo Alto campus, with eligibility tied to the payroll period ending June 6, 2026.
- Either party may request Board review of the decision, though such a request would not automatically delay the vote.
Primary Source Author: Hokulani Valencia, Acting Regional Director, NLRB Region 32
Primary Source: Decision and Direction of Election, Stanford Health Care and Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers West, Case 32-RC-386413 (NLRB Region 32, June 18, 2026)
Primary Source Link: NLRB case search, Case 32-RC-386413
