Technical workers at Northampton, Mass.-based Cooley Dickinson Hospital voted in favor of unionization.
With the vote, approximately 100 technical workers will join 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. The workers include medical lab technicians, cardiovascular technologists and respiratory therapists.
Technical workers will join about 300 Cooley Dickinson service workers who also voted to join 1199SEIU. The union said the election process for service and technical workers began in May, with two separate, secret-ballot elections conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. The union added the service workers voted in favor of unionization and the technical unit's voting results came after ballot challenges were resolved.
The election results for service workers were certified last month, and an NLRB hearing last week determined a 41-40 "yes" vote in the election for technical workers, reports The Recorder.
Cooley Dickinson President and CEO Joanne Marqusee told the publication via a statement, "It has been CDH's position from the beginning that we respect the right of employees to make free and fully informed decisions on the question of unionization through the process of a secret ballot election."