A press conference yesterday announced that workers at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center voted to join the Service Employees International Union. 73% of the hospital's workers voted yes on the union, which covers respiratory therapists, surgical and X-ray technicians, nursing assistants and housekeepers. Previous union organizing attempts by some of these groups had been unsuccessful, though nurses and maintenance employees are already unionized at St. Elizabeth's. The hospital's parent company, Caritas Christi Health Care, created a code of conduct to ensure that the secret ballot election was free and fair this time around.
See "St. Elizabeth's employees sign up with SEIU", Christine McConville, Boston Herald, April 9, 2009