Nurses at Rochester General Hospital vote to unionize

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Nurses at Rochester General Hospital have voted to unionize.

The tally Wednesday night was 431 to 295—that’s 60 percent in favor of unionizing. The nurses filed for a union election back in May.

Nurses who supported the formation of the Rochester Union of Nurses and Allied Professionals (RUNAP) are looking for better pay, staffing, and retention. Over the last two years of the pandemic, they cite the strain and emotional toll the workload took on each other and other front-line workers.

Nurses News10NBC spoke with Wednesday night after the vote said that this has been a long time coming .

"We’re just excited to win. We’re looking forward to getting started with the real work of working with the administration, making things better for everybody, especially our patients are our general work environment."

"We won, and that’s awesome, but now, like Carmen said, this is when the hard work — we gotta put in and we’re gonna make this place a better place for everyone. For ourselves and our patients."

Rochester General issued the following statement after the vote:

We are disappointed in this outcome, as we continue to believe a direct working relationship with our employees is best for the hospital and our team members. However, we accept the results and are fully committed to healing and moving forward as ONE TEAM, continuing to provide great care for our community, together.

The vote still needs to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board.