9 March 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – More registered nurses in Wichita voted to join a union after a ballot election was held on Wednesday.
Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph nurses voted 179 to 108 to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest and fastest-growing RN union.
In November 2022, registered nurses voted to unionize at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital voted to unionize.
According to a news release, the nurses pursued union affiliation to “strengthen their capacity to advocate for much-needed change at the hospital and improve the recruitment and retention of RNs. The union said 350 nurses will now be represented and will next elect a team to represent them in contract negotiations.
Via Christi released the following statement Thursday morning.
We are disappointed our registered nurses at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph voted for union representation. We strongly believe we can be most effective working collaboratively without union representation. We respect the voting process and are committed to ensuring it is followed during the vote certification period.”
Ascension Via Christi