Negotiations stall for Forum Health, nurses

YOUNGSTOWN-- Talks between Forum Health officials and negotiators for the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association ended after eight hours Thursday, with no agreement in sight.
The talks began at 10 a.m. Thursday. Forum Health Spokeswoman Evonne Woloshyn said the nurses' negotiators ended the talks.
"We're extremely disappointed that the nurses decided to stop the talks," Woloshyn said. She did not comment further on the negotiations.
Meanwhile, in a prepared statement, the nurses union said it offered "new solutions and major concessions to address mandatory overtime issues" during the talks. Mandatory overtime is a key issue in the strike.
However, the release states all proposals were rejected by the hospital. The release also states the nurses are "extremely disappointed that an agreement cannot be reached."
Looking ahead: No future talks have been scheduled. The 771 members of the YGDNA have been on strike at Northside Medical Center, Tod Children's Hospital, and Beeghly Medical Park in Boardman since May 1.
YGDNA and Teamsters Local 377, which represented the workers in the recently-resolved strike at St. Elizabeth's Health Center, are sponsoring a "Health Care Workers Rally" at 1 p.m. Saturday in Federal Plaza East. The Teamsters are expected to participate in the rally, even though they approved their new contract agreement Thursday night.