A majority of nurses at the St. Albans hospital voted to unionize last week. It鈥檚 the first union at Northwestern Medical Center, and adds to a growing list of health care workers organizing across the state in recent years.
Nurses like Meagan Niles say they鈥檙e advocating for safe staffing ratios, transparency around pay and consistent policies.
鈥淚t's just giving the nurses a voice in what we do every day,鈥� she said.
Niles has worked at several hospitals, both with unions and without, and was there to watch vote counting last week. At times, it was close.
鈥淭hen we saw that there were more yeses at the end,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody started getting excited and crying. It was really cool to be part of that.鈥�
The vote was 72 to 45.
鈥淲e fully recognize and respect the outcome of the election,鈥� hospital President Peter Wright said in an emailed statement. 鈥淲e are committed to moving forward and shaping a positive future focused on our common mission of providing exceptional care for our community.鈥�
At the end of the week, hundreds of support staff at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will also vote on whether to form a union.
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