NEW LONDON – Negotiations are expected to resume today between union members and management at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.
About 800 nurses and technicians went on a four-day strike last week, saying they were upset with the hospital’s decision to move some jobs and patient services to off-campus facilities. When workers tried to return Saturday night, the hospital locked them out, saying they couldn’t run the risk of another strike.
Replacement workers have been hired and the hospital operations are continuing mostly uninterrupted. Some elective surgeries were postponed but on Saturday Lawrence + Memorial said the surgeries would begin again.
Local and federal lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, have called for the two sides to reach an agreement.
The last major hospital strike occurred in 1986 at Waterbury Hospital.