HONOLULU (AP) -- Nurses at two Honolulu hospitals went on strike, while nurses at the state's largest hospital rejected the latest contract offer and were set to join their colleagues on picket lines Tuesday.þþNurses at The Queen's Medical Center rejected the latest offer ``by an overwhelming margin,'' the Hawaii Nurses Association said in a news release.þþTheir vote Monday came after nurses at Kuakini Medical Center and St. Francis Medical Center started walking picket lines at 7 a.m. after their talks broke off late Sunday.þþNo negotiations are scheduled at any of the hospitals, and a spokesman for the Hawaii Nurses Association said none were expected for at least a few days. The union covers about 800 nurses at Queens, 200 at Kuakini and 340 at St. Francis.þþQueen's officials said it would maintain operations with replacement nurses.þþWages, retirement benefits, patient ratio, and retaining nurses are the key issues in the negotiations, according to Lau and Wilmalee Kimble, spokeswoman for the St. Francis nurses.þþþ
Source: NY Times
