Hundreds of nurses were turned away on Monday when they reported for work at two hospitals as management began what officials say will be at least a five-day lockout over failed contract negotiations. Temporary nurses were brought in to cover shifts and the hospitals were functioning normally, said Steve Filton, chief financial officer for United Health Services Inc., which owns Valley and Desert Springs Hospital in the urban core of Las Vegas. The Service Employees International Union, which represents the nurses, had called for a strike to start Monday but said Sunday that it would stand down as state leaders asked the two sides to submit to new mediated talks after a 30-day cooling-off period.
See "2 Las Vegas Hospitals Bar Nurses in Contract Dispute", Steve Friess, The New York Times, December 4, 2006