St. Luke’s Nurses Have Date to Vote for Union

NEW BEDFORD — A vote to unionize nurses at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford has been scheduled.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association says nurses and management at St. Luke's have agreed to waive a hearing before the National Labor Relations Board and go ahead with a vote scheduled for November 29. The vote will likely take place at St. Luke's Hospital by a secret ballot.

If approved by a majority, the union would represent 722 nurses and several other positions at the hospital.

Earlier this month, over a dozen nurses marched on Southcoast Health President and Ceo Keith Hovan's office, notifying him of their intent to unionize.

Hovan and hospital administration have publicly opposed a vote to unionize.