Some 278 service employees at St. Mary's Hospital voted for representation by the United Steelworkers of America.
The win comes on the heels of another union victory at a Fergus Falls nursing home.
At St. Mary's, the vote was 139-41 for the union in ballots counted April 20. The unit consists of a range of employees who provide service and care for patients, including health unit coordinators, phlebotomists, secretaries and clerks.
All were in a so-called "residual" unit that became eligible for a union vote under new National Labor Relations Board rulings.
"Some of the employees have been campaigning for representation since 1999," said George Dubovich, USWA organizing coordinator. "It has been a long wait, but now they have the opportunity to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions."
More than 800 health care workers in the Duluth area have joined the Steelworkers since Jan. 1, pushing the number of USWA health care members in the area to more than 1,900.
On April 18, 140 employees at the Pioneer Retirement Community in Fergus Falls voted for the USWA. An election is scheduled in early May among 90 business office clericals and employees at St. Mary's Hospital in Superior, Wisconsin, the union said.
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Some 278 service employees at St. Mary’s Hospital voted for representation by the United Steelworkers of America.
The win comes on the heels of another union victory at a Fergus Falls nursing home.
At St. Mary’s, the vote was 139-41 for the union in ballots counted April 20. The unit consists of a range of employees who provide service and care for patients, including health unit coordinators, phlebotomists, secretaries and clerks.
All were in a so-called “residual” unit that became eligible for a union vote under new National Labor Relations Board rulings.
“Some of the employees have been campaigning for representation since 1999,” said George Dubovich, USWA organizing coordinator. “It has been a long wait, but now they have the opportunity to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions.”
More than 800 health care workers in the Duluth area have joined the Steelworkers since Jan. 1, pushing the number of USWA health care members in the area to more than 1,900.
On April 18, 140 employees at the Pioneer Retirement Community in Fergus Falls voted for the USWA. An election is scheduled in early May among 90 business office clericals and employees at St. Mary’s Hospital in Superior, Wisconsin, the union said.