Security officers at San Francisco-based Dignity Health have voted to join SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West.
The union represents more than 100,000 healthcare workers across California, according to a news release from SEIU-UHW. Dignity Health is part of Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, which has 150,000 healthcare professionals across the U.S.
Union members voted to unionize in May. The election covers 518 front-line workers in California — the first hospital security officers to join SEIU-UHW, the release said.
"This is a huge win for security officers, healthcare workers and the communities we serve at Dignity Health," Mark McCliss, who works as a security officer at Dignity Folsom, said in the release.
He added: "When security officers can't provide housing and other basic necessities for our loved ones, we struggle to keep the necessary staff on board to maintain the safest conditions for healthcare workers, patients and our fellow officers. Now that we're union, we'll have a strong voice to ensure adequate staffing levels and keep people safe when they visit a Dignity Health facility."
The results have not been certified by the National Labor Relations Board. If results are certified, full-time and regular part-time emergency management safety officers, public safety security officers, security officers, and security officer leads employed by Dignity at 40 health facilities in California will negotiate their first contract.
The vote comes after more than 18,000 healthcare workers at Dignity Health approved a contract that secured an election for security officers.
Becker's has reached out to Dignity Health and will update the story if a comment is received.