The Hawaii Nurses’ Association says members from Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children will vote on whether to hold another strike this Labor Day weekend.

Negotiations between the union and Hawaii Pacific Health, which operates Kapi‘olani, have dragged on for nearly a year now.

Negotiations for a new contract for about 600 nurses at Kapi‘olani began in mid-September. Kapiolani nurses have worked without a contract since December.

If authorized, the strike would be the second one held this year. The nurses authorized a strike in January, and held a weeklong strike from Jan. 21 to 28 before resuming negotiations.

HNA has since held a number of informational pickets, and joined forces with union nurses at The Queen’s Health System, who are also negotiating a new contract.

The nurses and hospital management continue to disagree primarily over staff-to-patient ratios. A federal mediator had been working with the two parties, but has since departed.

Many HNA nurses say they have been burdened with too many patients at one time, sometimes without adequate training, and that these ratios must be in place for patient safety, while management says it needs the flexibility to respond to changing situations as they arise.

The voting window began at 10 a.m. today and closes at 6 p.m. Sunday. If the majority of nurses vote in favor of a strike, the union will give HPH the required, 10-day advance notification before it begins.