`belle' Rings With Hilarity Among One-acts At Wilkes

1 Fired, 2 Suspended In Escapes 
Four Boys Who Fled Juvenile 
Detention Center In December 
Are Behind Bars

By BRIAN MALINA; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Friday, January 09, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 10B 





WILKES-BARRE- The nurses union at the Wyoming Valley Health Care System
will give contract negotiations one more shot- but that's all. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We are going to give it one more try. But we still reserve the right to
call the strike," local union President Bernadette Gately said Thursday, the
day after 11 hours of talks ended with no contract. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A negotiating session has been tentatively scheduled for next week, said
Gately. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Representatives of both parties met Wednesday for the first time in more
than a month. Prior to the meeting at East Mountain Inn in Plains Township,
Gately warned that the Wyoming Valley Nurses Association would put the health
care system on strike notice if progress was not made. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the end of the session, representatives of the health care system and
union agreed there had been enough movement to warrant additional talks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We were pleased with the progress ... but we have not completed the
contract," Gately said. "There are still several issues on the table that we
hope will fill in the final piece." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gately would not identify the unresolved issues. Previously, she said that
patient care issues were the focus of the negotiations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A union member who spoke on condition of anonymity also has said that sick
days, continuing education and the cost of health insurance are sticking
points in the negotiations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kevin McDonald of the health care system's Community Relations Department
said he did not know when additional talks would take place. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McDonald referred additional questions to federal mediator Charles Gamble,
who could not be reached for comment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Union members- approximately 800 nurses at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital,
Nesbitt Memorial Hospital in Kingston and the system's surgical center- voted
in November to authorize a strike if talks reached an impasse. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Federal law requires the union to give at least 10 days notice before the
nurses walk out. That notice has not been given. &nbsp;&nbsp;&amp;

Nurses Vow Another Try Before Strike 
After The First Negotiations 
In More Than A Month, Nurses 
Agree To Another Session; 
They Would Have To Give 10 
Days Notice Before Striking

Nurses Vow Another Try Before Strike After The First Negotiations In More Than A Month, Nurses Agree To Another Session; They Would Have To Give 10 Days Notice Before Striking