Hospital staffers vote yes on union
Norwood Hospital become the third in Boston's Caritas Christi Health Care System to unionize yesterday, voting to join the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). 408 workers, out of nearly 600 eligible, voted in the election, and the union was authorized by a landslide, 302 to 106. The organizing process began a number of months ago, with a mutual agreement between Caritas Christi and SEIU Local 1199, to not disparage or intimidate the other. The unit at Norwood will represent 594 respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, practical nurses, assistants, secretaries, housekeepers, paramedics, and pharmacy technicians. SEIU official George Gresham lauded the decision, saying that it demonstrated how hospitals have come together to preserve quality of care in difficult times.
See "Hospital staffers vote yes on union", Robert Weisman, The Boston Globe, October 6, 2009