Nurse residents and fellows at Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin (Texas) voted Jan. 3 to unionize and join the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United.
Nearly all 225 nurse residents and fellows — 96% — voted in favor of doing so.
"We do the same work as any other union RN at this facility," Liz Bartling, RN, a member of the nurse resident program in the telemetry unit at the medical center, stated in an NNU news release. "To the detriment of RNs and our patients, Ascension has maintained a ridiculous position that we should not join with our union colleagues at this facility."
The move comes a little over a year after 72% of RNs at the medical center also voted to join the organizing committee and NNU.
"We are dedicated to working together with all associates to ensure Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin continues as a destination of choice for high-quality care, as well as a preferred place to work," an Ascension spokesperson told Becker's.