Healthcare workers represented by three unions are hesitant to administer or receive a COVID-19 vaccine without validation from independent third-party experts, the unions announced in an Oct. 20 news release. 

Registered nurses at Montefiore New Rochelle (N.Y.) Hospital have authorized their bargaining committee to call a strike, according to the union that represents them. 

A union of professional healthcare workers has launched a public information campaign alleging aggressive collections and lack of safe staffing at Denver area HealthOne hospitals.

The CEO of a hospital in Washington state is asking employees to refrain from political displays after one employee reacted to the actions of another, the Whitman County Gazette reported.

Nurses at two Pennsylvania hospitals owned by Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare have reached contracts with management, averting a joint strike that was set to begin Oct. 16, according to the union that represents them. 

Registered nurses, healthcare professionals and staff at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City began voting in a union recertification election on Oct. 13, according to a union media advisory. 

The following hospital-union events have been reported since Sept. 28:

Registered nurses at Hartford HealthCare's Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn., are launching a two-day strike Oct. 13 over alleged unfair labor practices, according to the union that represents them.

State lawmakers in Minnesota said they would introduce legislation Oct. 12 to ensure paid time off for healthcare workers who need to test and quarantine for COVID-19, according to a union and the Star Tribune.

Nurses at Amita Health Saint Joseph Medical Center Joliet (Ill.) have submitted more than 100 complaints since late July, when they approved a new contract after a 16-day strike, according to the union that represents them.

University Hospital in Newark, N.J., said it has reached three-year bargaining agreements covering nearly 3,300 of its 3,600 employees.

Citing patient safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses at Oakland, Calif.-based Alameda Health System and in San Joaquin County's health system will strike for five days beginning Oct. 7, according to the unions that represent them.

Allina Health technical workers began a two-day strike Oct. 5 at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, Minn., and Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, according to the union that represents them.

Nurses at Hartford HealthCare's Backus Hospital in Norwich, Conn., have issued a strike notice for Oct. 13 to Oct. 15, according to the union that represents them.

Two nurses at Virginia Mason Memorial in Yakima, Wash., have filed a complaint alleging the hospital is jeopardizing patient and employee safety due to inadequate staffing and its personal protective equipment practices, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported.

Employees at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital are urging leadership to expand symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 testing as the hospital continues to battle a cluster of cases in two of its medical-surgical units, according to a letter obtained by WBZ-TV.

Workers at Niagara Falls (N.Y.) Memorial Medical Center participated in informational picketing Sept. 30 over concerns related to staffing and personal protective equipment, according to the Niagara Gazette.

NeuroBehavioral Hospital in Crown Point, Ind., terminated the employment of a discharge planner last week after she spoke to the New York Times about nursing homes discharging unprofitable patients, a practice known as "patient dumping," the NYT reports.  

Dignity Health and Sutter Health workers have held informational pickets in September to urge management to improve staffing and ensure employees have adequate personal protective equipment, according to the union that represents them.

The following hospital-union events have been reported since Sept. 14: