Cincinnati-based Mercy Health's "financial agreements with FC Cincinnati have taken center stage in an ongoing labor dispute" between the hospital chain and its "unionized workers in Toledo," according to Randy Tucker of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. Nearly 2,000 nurses and support staff, represented by the United Auto Workers labor union, are "on strike in Toledo over staffing issues." Critics of Mercy Health have "argued many of those problems could be solved with the money that Mercy Health is spending to be the 'Official Health Care Provider' for FC Cincinnati." In addition to signing on as a jersey sponsor for the team, Mercy Health also "signed a naming-rights deal for the club's Milford training complex, known as the Mercy Health Training Center." Hospital officials in a statement said, "Mercy Health's decision to partner with FC Cincinnati is completely unrelated to our ongoing negotiations with the local UAW in Toledo. Our partnership is a Cincinnati-specific community engagement and marketing objective" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/23).
