Neither Saint Vincent Hospital or its striking nurses reported wins during Wednesday’s bargaining discussion, both sides reported Thursday.
Now 60 days into the strike, Saint Vincent Hospital accused the Massachusetts Nurses Association union of presenting a counter proposal including asks beyond those related to staffing issues, which has long been the central public contention between the Worcester healthcare provider and the nursing bargaining unit. Some 800 nurses have been on strike since early March, with roughly 100 or so reportedly crossing the picket line to continue working.
“Instead of agreeing to the UMass staffing language, which it had supported over a dozen times publicly, the MNA presented a counterproposal that took the best parts from the UMass contract, the existing Saint Vincent contract, last Saint Vincent proposal, and added even more on top of that,” the hospital said in an unattributed statement.
Massachusetts nurses on strike back at the bargaining table
May 6, 2021
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WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) Nurses and officials at St. Vincent Hospital are still undergoing negotiations to resolve a strike that has carried into a third month.
Both parties restarted negotiations Wednesday morning, with the talks continuing into the evening.
Nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association union, are advocating for a 1:4 nurse to patient ratio on medical/surgical floors and telemetry units, increased staffing in the emergency department, and ancillary support in each unit.
The hospital’s parent company, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, has offered wage and salary increases, but nurses have continued to advocate for more staffing.
WORCESTER Negotiations to end the nurses’ strike concluded after 8 p.m. Wednesday and, while the nurses report “some movement was made in some areas,” they said the strike will continue.
“The parties negotiated for several hours, and while some movement was made in some areas, there are still significant differences on the issue of staffing that still need to be resolved before a settlement is possible, so the strike will continue,” Massachusetts Nurses Association spokesperson David Schildmeier said in a statement Wednesday night. “The parties ended talks for the day after 8 p.m. and we await a subsequent date to resume negotiations.”