Healthcare workers at Joshua Tree, Calif.-based Hi-Desert Medical Center voted in favor of unionization Tuesday.
The vote means nearly 300 workers at the facility are joining Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the union said via news release. Workers are in various positions including licensed vocational nurses, housekeepers, technicians and food service workers.
"We voted to join the union because we want to provide the best patient care and have a stronger voice in making that happen," said Donald Hartness, an emergency medical technician at Hi-Desert Medical. "Being able to speak up with one voice about staffing and patient care means both the hospital and the community benefit."
In response to the vote, hospital officials said, "Hi-Desert Medical Center respects this decision made by our employees, and will bargain in good faith with the SEIU-UHW to reach a collective bargaining agreement."
SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West now includes more than 93,000 healthcare workers in California. The union said more than 4,000 of those employees are at hospitals owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.
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