1200 Tufts Medical Center Nurses To Strike Wednesday

BOSTON (CBS) – Nurses at Tufts Medical Center say they will walk off the job Wednesday morning on a one-day strike. A last ditch effort to avoid the strike failed Tuesday night.

The one-day strike is a protest of what the Massachusetts Nurses Association says are the hospital's "safety issues." They're asking for more nurses, wage improvements, and pension protections for the 1,200 nurses they represent at the hospital.

"It's not a place that any of us wanted to be but we feel very much forced into this situation," said Mary Havlicek Cornacchia. "The administration has not been listening to our concerns all along."

The hospital says it can't afford it and that anyone who chooses to strike will be locked out for an additional four days.

Tufts Medical Center released a statement saying in part, "The MNA had an opportunity to reach an agreement tonight; they instead chose to strike and have our nurses walk out on patients."

The hospital says there will be more than 320 experienced nurses to care for patients on Wednesday.

It will be the first strike by nurses in Boston in more than 30 years.