Arizona outpatient doctors vote to join first physicians union at Banner Health

Clinicians serving over 500,000 patients annually at Banner Health's primary-care sites in the Phoenix Valley have become the first group of Arizona physicians to join a labor union, approving affiliation with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. Of the more than 200 eligible doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, 149 voted yes and 66 voted no after a campaign highlighting burnout, excessive after-hours work and a new policy allowing pay dockings of up to $15,000 based on revenue targets.

The organizing drive was led by family-medicine doctor Justin Watkins, who began efforts in June 2025, and was accompanied by an NLRB unfair-labor-practice complaint from another physician. Legal consultant Cambria Nwosu noted that a union could negotiate collectively on workload, pay and disciplinary matters, though she cautioned it cannot solve broader system shortages. Banner Health warned that unionization does not guarantee workplace improvements and reiterated its commitment to patient care while awaiting NLRB certification. The outcome opens the door to bargaining on multiple employment terms, though negotiations may take months or longer.