Pittsburgh-based Allegheny General Hospital nurses decided this week to continue contract negotiations rather than vote on a possible strike, reports TribLIVE.
The roughly 1,300 nurses, represented by Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania, said they made the decision Monday following a negotiating session, according to the report. They had planned a strike vote for Tuesday, the day a contract extension expired.
"AGH nurses have always made the highest quality care our top priority and we continue to do so," Cathy Stoddart, RN, president of the local SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania union at the hospital, told TribLIVE via email. "We are committed to reaching a union contract that ensures the highest quality of care for patients and moves the nursing profession forward."
Dan Laurent, spokesperson for the hospital's owner, Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network, also expressed a commitment to negotiations.
He told TribLIVE, "We have made great progress in our negotiations to date and look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with the union until an agreement is reached."
He added that AHN's goal is a "fair and competitive" contract.
Nurses and the hospital have been in negotiations for about three months.