Registered nurses at two hospitals operated by Appalachian Regional Healthcare — Appalachian Regional Hospital in Hazard, Ky., and Beckley (W.Va.) Appalachian Regional Hospital — plan to strike Thursday.
The nurses are members of the Southern United Nurses/National Nurses United. According to the union, the nurses are striking in protest of the extension of a wage freeze, cuts in health coverage and unsafe workloads. The union rejected a contract proposal last week, according to a report by The Register-Herald.
ARH, on the other hand, sees the main issues as the nurses' request for triple pay on holidays and 5 percent pay raises across the board, Julius Pearson, the systems' assistant director of employees and labor relations, told The Register-Herald.
The system has filed two unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against SUN/NNU for failure to bargain to reach a contract agreement. ARH also plans to move forward with implementing the latest contract that the union rejected, after the current contract expires April 30.
Union nurses will walk out to strike starting 7 a.m. EDT. The system says service at the two hospitals will be uninterrupted by the strike.
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