Negotiations between Morgantown-based West Virginia University Hospitals and one of its unions fell through Monday, and union members could strike later this month, according to a report by The Daily Athenaeum.
Local 814 of the Laborers' International Union of North America and the system have been in contract negotiations for months. The union has issued three strike notices since December, but the current contact has been extended each time to avert a strike.
Now, however, union officials say contract extensions are over: If a deal is not reached by March 17, when the current extension ends, union members will strike March 18, according to the report.
"If we don't come to an agreement, we're not giving them another extension," John Grossklaus, a union representative, told The Daily Athenaeum.
Hospital officials are staying optimistic on the possibility of reaching a contract agreement without a strike. "We remain hopeful and very optimistic," Amy Johns, director of public affairs planning, marketing and communications for WVU Healthcare & Health Sciences, said in the report.
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