HEPPNER — Nurses and technical support workers at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Heppner have joined the Oregon Nurses Association.

Nurses and technicians in x-ray, lab and radiology announced their interest to unionize in March, which the state and the hospital would have to recognize, according to a press release from the Oregon Nurses Association.

Since Pioneer Memorial Hospital is a public hospital and not federal, it was required the hospital go through the state. If the hospital was federal, it would have had to go through the National Labor Relations Board.

The nurses and techs were most interested in unionizing to have a larger say in their schedules, staffing and turnovers.

“I think it’s really about respecting the nurses’ expertise and letting them have a say in how things should be staffed,” said Myrna Jensen, communication specialist at the Oregon Nurses Association. “They are the only ones that have worked on the floor with the patients, they know what they are experiencing and what they need.”

Instead of approving, the hospital filed an objection with Oregon’s Employment Relations Board.

After hearings, the board on July 12 ruled in favor of the employees.

The employees at Pioneer Memorial are the second group to unionize with the Oregon Nurses Association, the first being a group from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

Since the ERB ruled against the hospital, the nurses and technicians of Pioneer Memorial are unionized. However, the union will need to take additional steps to enact employees’ goals.

The first step is for each employee who approved the union to nominate coworkers for the bargaining team. Once the team is formed, they will work on a contract that combines changes they want.

“Once the proposal is final, they will start bargaining with the hospital,” Jensen said. “Negotiations can take up to almost a year, but once they reach a tentative agreement with the hospital, employees will vote on the contract.”

Pioneer Memorial Hospital is part of Morrow County Health District, a nonprofit Oregon special district that offers health care service throughout the county. The district receives most of its funding through property taxes.

The East Oregonian contacted the health district for a statement, but it did not immediately comment.