By AP/KWMU
St. Louis – A five-week strike by nurses at a large St. Louis County hospital is over.
Members of the nurses' union voted 528-to-127 Friday to accept a new three-year contract with St. John's Mercy Medical Center.
About 1,700 nurses work at the hospital, which is the second-largest in the St. Louis area.
The new contract provides three-percent annual raises for most registered nurses.
But the union failed to win its demand to require membership by all nurses. Hospital officials say nurses should decide for themselves whether to join the union.
The walkout began December 15th, although some union nurses continued to work.
The nonprofit Catholic hospital also brought in nurses from the 18 other hospitals in the Sisters of Mercy Health System.