Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tim Garrett provided insight for a Modern Healthcare article about health system M&A transactions and how these companies navigate merging with unionized workplaces. The artic”e references that various regulatory hurdles a company may endure when acquiring or merging with a unionized workforce that may be a deterrent in a potential transaction. However, some argue there are opportunities in this situation.

As Tim points out in the article, a company may look at a unionized facility and think its current management isn’t enforcing policies outlined by a collective bargaining agreement in the best way. “Sometimes management isn’t properly exercising its rights under the collective bargaining agreement and is being too lax. A buyer may say, ‘I can tighten things up a bit here, even in the constraints of having a collective bargaining agreement,'” Tim added.

The full article, “As Health Systems Expand, Communication is Key for Staff Engagement,” was published on November 22 by Modern Healthcare and is available online (subscription required).