Professional and technical workers at Bremerton, Wash.-based Harrison Medical Center will vote on whether to authorize a strike June 10, according to a report from the Central Kitsap Reporter.
The roughly 800 employees are represented by UFCW 21. The union and the hospital have been in contract negotiations since summer 2013, according to the report.
The major issue has been a proposed no-strike clause, which hospital officials called common. "As Kitsap's regional medical center and only Level III trauma center, patient safety is one area in which we cannot compromise. The risk to staffing levels and patient care is too great without the no-strike clause in place," a hospital spokeswoman told CKR.
In addition to the no-strike clause, the union also has issues with the length of the contract and does not want the contract to weaken its grievance procedure, according to the report.
More Articles on Hospitals and Unions:
Are Massachusetts Nurses are Overburdened? Union Survey Says Yes
How Healthcare Reform is Affecting Labor Negotiations, Costs: 5 Things to Know
Sutter's Memorial Medical Center Nurses Seek Unionization