Mediation will likely be the next step in the dispute between Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and its staff of approximately 700 nurses.  A federal mediator will be used to settle the ongoing contract negotiations between the two parties.

If it were not for mediation, the Health Professionals and Allied Employees Local 5004 would be headed to strike.  The union was on the brink of issuing the required 10-day notice of intent to strike when the nurses opted to try mediation.  A federal mediator will oversee the proceedings.  Their contracts expired on May 31^st.

The nurses’ union is requesting an increase in staffing and educational opportunities.  They also want an employment guarantee in the event of a merger of the hospital in the future.

According to the president of the union, Alice Barden, “Our demands have been rejected at every turn.  But as nurses, we are unified in protecting all that we have established in our contract and to protect our community hospital. ”

Hospital officials issued a statement of their own, saying, “We continue to negotiate in good faith with the union bargaining committee with the hope that we will come to an agreement before our contract expires.  The guiding philosophy in all our contract proposals is what is in the best interest of our patients, our hospital and the communities we serve. ”

Mediation has been wildly successful in the past for settling contract disputes between unions and their employers and the hospital and the nurses that work for it are hoping this time is no exception.