Washington (DC) Hospital Center nurses' labor dispute reflects tensions across U.S.

It was bad when the Washington Hospital Center fired 18 nurses during last winter's blizzards. It got worse when the nurses union and management failed to negotiate a new contract in the summer. Then last week, the hospital effectively cut take-home pay for most nurses. As WHC nurses voted overwhelmingly Tuesday night to join the largest nurses union in the country, labor relations at the area's biggest hospital were tense.