West Penn Hospital union nurses vote to authorize strike

Union nurses at West Penn Hospital vote to authorize strike.

In a news release from SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania it says nurses voted 99.3 percent in favor of authorizing their negotiating committee to send a strike notice if necessary.

Kari Xander, a neonatal intensive care nurse and union president at West Penn, said in the release we don't want to strike, but they’re ready to act for their patients.

"We are united for our patients and we are not backing down while we have made some progress in our negotiations, we have not seen AHN commit to the levels of investment necessary to keep nurses at the bedside,” said Xander.

The nurses are calling on a push to hire 100 more nurses to meet the demand for their services. A strike date has not been set.