Registered nurses at a second Wichita hospital have voted to unionize.   Nurses at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph Hospital voted by 62 percent to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United.

A secret ballot election was conducted Wednesday by the National Labor Relations Board, and the vote count was 179 to 108 to join the union.

In November, nurses at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis Hospital voted to join NNOC.

The union will represent more than 350 registered nurses at St. Joseph Hospital.

Ascension Via Christi released a statement after the union vote:

“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.”

[ photo:  Ascension Via Christi – Facebook ]