Members of SEIU District 1199 have voted to authorize a strike at Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital, cleveland.com reported.
The union represents 170 workers, including maintenance workers, electricians, mechanics and nursing assistants, according to the publication. Lutheran Hospital is a 203-bed acute-care facility in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood.
Union members voted April 28 to authorize a strike as early as May 11, Vanessa Dalesandro, director of SEIU District 1199, told cleveland.com.
The hospital has failed to bargain in good faith and "prioritizes profits over patients and most certainly over Cleveland Clinic union caregivers," she said, according to the publication.
In a statement shared with Becker's, Cleveland Clinic said: "We are in the early stages of labor negotiations for a new contract with the SEIU unit at Lutheran Hospital. We appreciate the loyalty and care provided by all members of the bargaining unit at the hospital. We look forward to working with the union to achieve a mutually agreeable contract renewal as we have in years past."
Union members seek the same pay and benefits as non-union employees. Those include wage increases, maternity leave, sick leave and paternity leave, Ms. Dalesandro said, according to cleveland.com.
Cleveland Clinic said pay and benefits for union workers are set by contract, which have been mutually agreed upon by the union and hospital, according to the publication.
A vote to authorize a strike does not mean a strike will occur. Union members would still have to give the hospital 10 days' notice.