Hospital, union reach tentative agreement

BRATTLEBORO — After months of tense negotiations, the Brattleboro Retreat and the union representing about 500 of the hospital workers say they’ve reached a tentative contract agreement.
The two sides entered into a marathon bargaining session that began on Monday and went well into Tuesday.
The Brattleboro Reformer reports (http://bit.ly/VC4M0V) both sides were far apart on issues of staffing, health insurance, retirement and pay scales prior to negotiations.
The last contract expired on Oct. 15 and both sides agreed to a series of extensions to prevent a strike while the negotiations continued.
Workers are scheduled to vote on the contract agreement on Monday.