The nurses are in the 10th week of a walkout that saw little movement until talks resumed July 3. At that meeting, the nurses submitted a new proposal.

Talks were scheduled to start at 5 p.m. today at the Hawai'i Employers Council.

"The nurses are looking very intently at how management will respond, since most of us are trying to decide whether to take permanent jobs at other hospitals," said nurse negotiator Cindy Guerin.

"We continue to hold out faith that, at some point, the hospital administration must begin to listen to the nurses, instead of rejecting without reason our sincere attempts to reach a fair agreement."

Hospital spokesman Richard Aea said he had no gut feeling about whether a settlement could be reached tonight.

"It's a good thing that we are talking again," Aea said. "We hope tonight will be productive."