North Adams Nurses Reach Tentative Labor Deal

Unionized nurses at North Adams Regional Hospital have reached a tentative agreement with hospital management on a new labor contract.

The agreement was reached Thursday after 24 hours straight of negotiations, and a day before the hospital's roughly 100 nurses were scheduled to strike.

The sides differed on staffing levels and overtime rules. The nurses claimed the hospital's proposals would have compromised patient care. The nurses were not asking for pay raises.

Union official Ruth O'Hearn said the nurses were "satisfied and relieved" by the deal.

While not revealing specifics of the deal, management said in a statement that the settlement addresses "flexible staffing policies and fiscal responsibility."

The two-year deal must still be ratified.