Registered nurses at Gloversville, N.Y.-based Nathan Littauer Hospital and Schenectady, N.Y.-based Ellis Medicine have voted to authorize a strike.
Here are three things to know about the vote.
1. More than 700 nurses, represented by the New York State Nurses Association, voted to authorize the strike. The nurses are in negotiations with the hospitals, and the union said staffing levels are one of the key issues being discussed, according to the Albany Business Review. Recently, more than 300 nurses from Nathan Littauer, Ellis Medicine and Bellevue Woman's Center in Niskayuna, N.Y., picketed in front of their hospitals with patients, elected officials and other community members, the union said.
2. The strike authorization vote comes after nurses at New York City hospitals took similar strike authorization earlier this month. The NYSNA and the NYC Hospital Alliance have since reached a tentative four-year agreement that covers approximately 8,500 nurses.
3. The date of the strike has yet to be determined by the union's bargaining team.
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