Over 300 nurses from MercyOne in Sioux City represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 222 have voted overwhelmingly to authorize an unfair labor practice strike against the hospital.
In a separate vote, the nurses also overwhelmingly rejected MercyOne’s latest offer for a new labor contract.
A statement from the union says “In violation of the National Labor Relations Act, MercyOne has unlawfully intimidated, coerced and disciplined our hard-working nurses for sticking up for themselves and for supporting their Union and each other during the course of this contract dispute.
MercyOne released a statement saying quote “It is a disappointing day for all of us as our union dues-paying nurse colleagues voted to reject our contract offer and authorized a strike.”
The two sides have been meeting for around seven months to reach a new contract agreement.
Mercy says that in their latest offer, all nurses would receive, on average, a 3.4 percent increase in pay each year during the three-year contract, and that only 52 percent of our nurses were eligible to vote because they pay union dues.
A strike may occur after the union provides a 10-day strike notice.
