Nurses and Bus Drivers vote to strike

Strike!

This week we’ve heard that there may be a couple of workforce strikes in the Berkshires’  While it’s not uncommon for workers to go on strike for better wages and benefits, it’s not something we’ve seen or heard very often in the Berkshires.

Earlier this week according to iberkshires.com we heard The Berkshire Regional Transit authority is on the verge of a work stoppage.  Drivers voted down a contract offer and called for a strike and apparently scheduled a work stoppage with the next 10 days.  A strike would impact all aspects of the BRTA.

Today we learned that the Berkshire Medical Center’s nurses voted to hold another one day strike on Tuesday February 27.  This would be the second one day strike by the nurses who have been in contract negotiations with The Berkshire Medical Center for over a year.

The BMC nurses have been focused on improving staffing levels, saying there are far too few nurses to handle the number and condition of the patients, according to the Berkshire Eagle.