Sen. Clinton calls for hospital strike settlement

Columbia Memorial Hospital employees have postponed today's planned strike and will continue negotiations with the Hudson, NY hospital administrators after Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) sent a letter asking both sides to "redouble your efforts to negotiate a fair and reasonable contract for the benefit of the hospital, the workforce and the community."

Since December, union members--which include registered nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians, technologists, housekeeping and dietary workers--have been without a contract. The biggest stumbling block in the negotiations has been (ironically, if not surprisingly) management's demand that workers help pay for family health insurance coverage. Mike Rifkin, the union vice president, said that the union will strike July 10 if no progress is made in negotiations.

- see this article from The Independent for more