Baltimore's City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday endorsing "free and fair union elections for all hospital and nursing home workers in every facility throughout the city." In a city where only nine percent of health care workers are currently unionized (but one in five Baltimore jobs are in health care), this is big news!

The resolution states that unionized healthcare workers are best able to protect quality patient care and work with employers toward shared goals, such as expanding training and education opportunities. "In the past, local health care employers have hired high-priced anti-worker consultants and diverted patient care dollars into fear campaigns to silence caregivers," says SEIU 1199 Communications Director Stacey Mink. "These anti-worker campaigns not only waste health care resources, they ultimately take the focus off patient care."

More on why free and fair elections are so important for caregivers seeking to form unions here.