Northside nurses say they are ready to bargain 'round the clock'

YOUNGSTOWN — Nurses at ValleyCare Northside Medical Center conducted a one-day work stoppage today as they stepped up efforts to reach a new contract that will allow the hospital to maintain its award-winning patient care and clinical operations.

Members of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association voted to call the one-day, unfair labor practice strike after 15 months of on-again, off-again bargaining failed to produce an agreement, and Northside’s management and corporate owners showed little interest in discussing concerns raised by their contract proposals, according to a press release today from the Ohio Nurses Association. The YGDNA is affiliated with the ONA.

“We’re ready and willing to bargain around the clock to reach an agreement,” said YGDNA President Eric Williams. “But we have to have someone to talk to — and Northside management and Community Health Systems Inc., the hospital’s for-profit owner, have been unwilling to discuss the issues we have raised that relate to the quality of patient care.”

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com