West Penn Hospital nurses to vote on possible strike action on Wednesday

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The unionized nurses of West Penn Hospital are voting today on whether or not to go on strike.

The vote comes after the union said they failed to reach an agreement with Allegheny Health Network last week.

West Penn nurses have been negotiating with AHN in an effort to improve patient care as well as nurse retention and recruitment.

A union representative told KDKA this morning that votes will be tallied tonight.

Last week, dozens of nurses held a rally outside of the hospital on the eve of their final negotiations with AHN .

"We haven't yet seen administration agree to a serious investment in nursing that would turn this tide," ER nurse Jordan Mankiewicz said.

According to a study from the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, the commonwealth has one of the worst shortages of nurses in the United States, with 20,000 unfilled positions.

"We need to hire 100 additional nurses to ensure the highest level of care for our patients,"  McKenzie Reed, a critical care nurse said. "That's why we are here to demand that AHN make major investments in the nurse workforce just like they did at AGH."

"We don't want to go on strike. But make no bones about it. We're sure the hell not afraid of it either," Darrin Kelly of the Allegheny/Fayette Labor Council said last week during the rally.

We will have more on this story throughout the day, stay with KDKA.com for the latest.