Washington Hospital Nurses Reject Contract

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Nurses at Washington Hospital Center overwhelmingly rejected management's proposed contract last weekend. The 987-21 vote -- the largest turnout in the union's history -- sent "a strong message to WHC management that we will not accept continued staffing shortages or reductions in benefits and wages," said Nurses United after the vote. The nurses are now working without a contract, the previous contract having expired at midnight on June 19. "This weekend’s vote was not a strike vote," the union said. "We do not want to go on strike, but we will if we have to. Our first choice is to resolve this at the negotiation table. A strike is our most powerful tool, and should it be necessary, we need to be ready to use it." Contract negotiations are expected to resume soon after the Fourth of July holiday.
- Chris Garlock; photo: almost 2000 nurses rallied in May for a fair contract outside the Washington Hospital Center; photo by Adam Wright