Springfield hospital employees vote down union

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The majority of healthcare workers in Springfield hospitals voted against unionizing Thursday after years of negotiation on the subject.
Of the six voting units at Springfield Regional Medical Center, only the Service and Support group chose to unionize.
Workers at Mercy McAuley Center and two of the six units at Mercy Memorial Hospital in Urbana voted to unionize -- support service, and technical. Community Mercy would not release the number of votes.
The opportunity to vote was part of an agreement made based on guidelines from the U.S. Conference of Bishops in 2009, neither Catholic Healthcare Partners, the co-owner of the local facilities, nor the union were allowed to campaign or solicit employees about their decision. The National Labor Relations Board oversaw the election.

The Springfield News-Sun contributed to this article.