Union workers at Regina Medical Center voted last night to authorize a five-day strike. The roughly 230 employees, which includes laundry workers, nursing assistants and x-ray technicians, are locked in a contract dispute with the Hastings facility.

No date has been set for the work stoppage. Employees are required by law to give the medical facility 10 days notice before walking off the job. Last month the workers, who are represented by Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota, held a two-day strike.

The primary dispute is over pension benefits. Regina Medical Center insists that it needs to cut back on retirement costs to remain competitive. The workers believe the proposed changes would amount to gutting their retirement savings.