The union that represents nurses and other staff at the Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island may announce plans to strike if an agreement isn't reached with hospital representatives.
District 1199 SEIU New England members voted on Sunday and Monday to authorize their bargaining committee to deliver a strike notice. Executive vice president Patrick Quinn says a 10-day strike notice will be issued if an agreement isn't reached on Wednesday.
The current contract expired on Dec. 1. Quinn says members want more staff to share the workload and reduce forced overtime.
Hospital chief nursing officer Matthew Quin says the Providence hospital is hiring new nurses but rules governing the addition of new staff take a long period of time.
Quin says management is "extremely committed" to the contract negotiations.
