COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — More health care workers at Ohio State University’s hospital system have unionized.

Nearly 1,000 patient care associates and psychiatric care technicians at the Wexner Medical Center won union representation during a December vote, the State Employee Relations Board certified on Jan. 3. The employees, responsible for the day-to-day care of patients, have joined the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers as they seek higher wages and increased staffing.

“I am so happy to have a voice in the workplace finally,” Lyndsee Cody, a patient care associate at the Wexner Medical Center, said in a news release. “Alongside my colleagues, we came together knowing that we deserve to be heard to have a better quality of life for ourselves and others surrounding us. Having a Union at OSU will strengthen us as a team and as a whole alongside the nurses.”

The patient care technicians join 4,000 registered nurses already unionized at the Wexner Medical Center after more than a year of organizing alongside the nurses’ union, which has repeatedly advocated on a public scale for better working conditions in the hospital system. Last November, the nurses’ union staked out an Ohio State board of trustees meeting to call on the university to address what they describe as unsafe staffing levels that lead to poor outcomes for patients and burnout for employees.

In a statement, a Wexner Medical Center spokesperson emphasized the low number of votes in the union election — 185 eligible workers cast ballots, and 167 voted to unionize.

“This is a uniquely low level of participation for our medical center,” the spokesperson said. “We are reviewing the results and will work with our colleagues on fair and mutually beneficial paths going forward.”

IAM lead organizer Ali Rhodes said in a statement that union elections by mail traditionally have low turnout. The vote speaks for the entire workforce of 954 patient care technicians and psychiatric care technicians, she said.

“We look forward to securing a fair and equitable contract that provides the PCAs a voice in the workplace,” Rhodes said.