AFT Connecticut represents about 800 nurses and technicians at L+M. The workers have been locked out of the hospital since they went on a four-day strike Nov. 27. L+M said the lockout would continue until a new contract is signed.
Contract negotiations scheduled for last week were cancelled because the union wanted the session to be open to its full leadership, and the hospital did not. An agreement has been reached between the hospital and AFT Connecticut for Monday’s talks, according to Patch.
“In place of direct discussions with the administration, the federal mediator will facilitate a ‘shuttle diplomacy’ approach to exchanging proposals and counterproposals between both sides,” a union spokesman told Patch. “This will allow for nurses sand techs not on the committee to gain firsthand information, have their questions answered and bear witness to this critically important process.”
Shuttle diplomacy is when a person, in this case a federal mediator, travels between two groups to talk to their leaders to bring about an agreement.
A hospital statement said L+M “looks forward to the opportunity for a productive session that results in an agreeable contract and the return of our employees.”
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