The State : End Sought in Hospital Feud

An arbitrator sought to end a bitter dispute that prevented service workers from returning to their jobs at six San Francisco-area hospitals struck by 2,200 nurses on Aug. 2. Affiliated Hospitals of San Francisco and Local 250 of the Hospital and Health Care Workers Union agreed to binding arbitration after a noisy demonstration outside the building housing management’s legal team. Police arrested 18 people, including Local 250 Trustee Mark Splain, during a sit-in at the entrances to the Bank of America building in the city’s Financial District. Local 250, with 1,700 members, struck the hospitals on July 26, a week before the nurses, and reached a tentative agreement last week. The California Nurses Assn. reached a tentative agreement a short time later. Members of Local 250 ratified their pact but said they would honor the CNA picket lines as long as it was still on strike. The nurses rejected the contract proposal but said there would be no hard feelings if Local 250 members returned to their jobs.