Health & Fitness
Nurses At Pittsburgh Hospital Vote To Authorize Strike
Hundreds of nurses at a Pittsburgh hospital have approved a potential walkout. Patch provides the details here.
PITTSBURGH, PA — Nurses at West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield soon could walk off the job. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, which represents the nurses, announced on Wednesday that they have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike.
According to a union news release, 99.3 percent of 650 nurses voted to authorize the walkout. A date for a strike has not yet been set, but the vote enables the negotiating committee to set one.
"We don't want to strike, but we're ready to take action for our patients," Kari Xander, a West Penn nurse and union president, said in the release.
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The key issues in the labor dispute involve salaries and addressing staffing shortages. The union wants to add an additional 100 registered nurses at the hospital.
West Penn is owned by the Allegheny Health Network. A network spokesman told WTAE-TVthat the hospital is hopeful that a strike can be avoided and it will continue to bargain in good faith with the nurses.
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