St. Vincent Hospital nurses and the hospital management team will start talking again on Monday, returning to the bargaining table for the first round of negotiations since the Worcester nurses launched their strike eight weeks ago.
The 800 nurses have been on strike since March 8 as they continue to battle Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare over better staffing measures.
A federal mediator scheduled the new round of negotiations as Tenet plans to present an “adjustment” to its most recent proposal, Saint Vincent Hospital CEO Carolyn Jackson said Sunday.
“It would be great if they agree to what we put on the table,” Jackson said of the nurses who are with the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
If the nurses don’t say yes to the adjustments, then Jackson hopes they would present a “solid counterproposal” so the two sides can quickly reach a deal.
“We want them to be serious about reaching an agreement,” Jackson said. “The more they are willing to discuss and negotiate, the better.”
Striking nurses have told the Herald that poor staffing levels have led to patient care and safety issues, while hospital officials have said the proposal offered to the nurses has been the best in years and includes wage increases.
“With the resolve we have gained over the last seven weeks on strike, we have always been willing to get back to the table in hopes of settling a contract that puts the safety and dignity of our patients first,” said Marlena Pellegrino, a longtime nurse at the hospital and co-chair of the nurses local bargaining with the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
“We are hopeful that the hospital will come to the table in earnest with a serious proposal that will adequately address the needs of all of our patients and honor the integrity of the negotiating process,” she added. “If this is their true intent, we will negotiate as hard and long as it takes to reach an agreement and get back where we have always belonged — at the bedside caring for our patients and the community we have served with pride for so many years.”
The nurses strike has received support from many elected officials, labor, faith-based organizations and community advocates.
The hospital has brought in replacement nurses during the eight-week strike.
It’s been a “challenge” to maintain all of the hospital operations while there’s been “a distraction outside,” Jackson said.
But, she added, the “highly-skilled” replacement nurses are used to entering “unique and stressful situations.”
“They’ve stepped in flawlessly,” Jackson said.
The negotiations between the nurses and hospital are set to resume at 3 p.m. on Monday.
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April 26, 2021 at 06:47AM
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St. Vincent nurses and hospital to resume negotiations as strike enters week 8 - Boston Herald
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