Union nurses who had authorized strikes at eight New Jersey hospitals as their contracts were about to expire have finished bargaining and overwhelmingly ratified new agreements, their union said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, negotiations were to resume Wednesday between the union and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, which had locked out its 660 unionized registered nurses for three days after contract talks broke down last Friday.
The RNs, who were locked out starting at 7 a.m. Friday, were allowed to return to work Monday after replacement workers hired by the 550-bed hospital took care of patients over the weekend.
Key issues in the Englewood dispute _ and at the other eight hospitals _ include staffing levels and other aspects of work conditions, protecting the nurses' pensions and maintaining the right of charge nurses, who assign other nurses to care for patients, to be unionized.
More:
http://1010wins.com/pages/43502.php?
Would you like to comment?
