Nurses ratify new contract with hospital; labor dispute ends

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Nurses have ratified a new contract with an Ohio hospital after a three-month labor dispute.

The United Auto Workers union represents about 950 nurses at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo. The union says roughly 84% of voting members approved the contract this week.

Nurses returned to work June 13 after a six-week strike, but had worked without a contract since rejecting an earlier proposal. Their concerns included staffing shortages they say led to increased overtime and greater on-call duties.

Most details of the ratified contract weren’t immediately available. The union did note that nurses won’t have to work on-site for more than 16 hours, among other changes.

The Blade reports that Mercy Health St. Vincent officials said they are pleased the nurses ratified the “updated contract proposal.”