Medical techs at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton are forming a union with the aim of gaining better compensation and decreasing their workload.

On Wednesday, the Oregon Nurses Association announced that the union had won the election to represent 39 medical technician workers at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton.

Pro-union St. Anthony technicians formed St. Anthony Techs United in June and publicly announced their intention to form a union under the ONA. Members cited low pay compared to industry standards, overscheduling and low levels of staffing as reasons to organize.

St. Anthony respiratory therapist Robert Maranville helped lead the effort to unionize the medical techs, a group of employees that also includes imaging and pharmacy technicians. He says he witnessed the vote virtually while ballots were being tallied at a National Labor Relations Board office.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking because the first few vote counts were all ‘No’s,’” he said “And so we’re all really nervous.”

But the votes eventually started going the other way and by the time the NLRB finished counting ballots, Maranville said about 70%, of the medical techs voted in favor of the union.

“We really got a resounding win,” he said.

The union vote didn’t come without opposition.

St. Anthony management denied a request to voluntarily recognize the union and opposed its formation, with St. Anthony Hospital President Harry Geller writing in a letter that the hospital prefers to “maintain a direct relationship with our staff.”

Despite the union’s victory, hospital management maintains that the status quo remains.

“As we stated since the beginning of the union campaign, St. Anthony Hospital’s primary concerns have always been that we continue to provide excellent patient care and that our employees’ voices are heard,” Geller said in a Thursday statement. “With this decision, our priorities remain unchanged. We will continue to work together to achieve our objectives of high-quality patient care and a supportive work environment.”

Despite the positive tone of the statement, Maranville said pro-union staff and ONA representatives spent the days leading up to the vote reassuring medical techs that they were making the right decision after staff heard anti-union arguments from St. Anthony management.

St. Anthony is owned by Catholic Health Initiatives, a subsidiary of the multi-billion CommonSpirit Health chain of hospitals.

Maranville said the newly formed union will begin collecting input from members as they prepare to go to the bargaining table to negotiate a contract. With varying work responsibilities, Maranville says the union wants to make sure it’s representing the will of its members.

In a press release, ONA Executive Director Anne Tan Piazza said the Pendleton vote was just the latest success for her union, citing successful drives in Bend, Eugene and Lincoln City.

The Oregon Nurses Association announced last week that 40 health care technical workers were forming a union at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton.

ONA had recommended a “yes” vote to its members, but in recent weeks nurses at St. Vincent had been actively campaigning against the agreement. Nurses say they are overworked and underpaid.