CALGARY -- Several hundred workers at a southeast Calgary care facility that was the site of a number of COVID-19 outbreaks last year voted to join Alberta's largest union.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) announced the results of the vote of more than 300 auxiliary nurses at AgeCare Seton on April 28.

Union officials say by joining, they are improving their working conditions and care of the residents at the facility.

"The organizing that these workers have done is inspiring, and we’re proud to have them in our union family," Bobby-Joe Borodey, a vice-president with AUPE, said in a release.

Borodey says the workers voted to organize under some of the most difficult circumstances facing nurses in Alberta.

"They got organized while working in the hardest-hit industry during a once-in-a-century pandemic. Like so many other workers, they’ve realized that the only real protection they can have at work comes from forming a union with their co-workers."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, AgeCare Seton, located at 4963 Front St. S.E., was the site of several outbreaks of the illness.

The province also launched an investigation into an incident where a visitor, who knew they were infected with COVID-19, visited the facility and told staff they tested negative.

The AUPE says the bargaining unit will consist of all 324 auxiliary nursing care workers at AgeCare Seton, which include health-care aides, licensed practical nurses, recreation aides and physiotherapy aides.