Nurses to strike
St. Vincent Hospital says it gave a good offer, nurses disagree
Hundreds of Saint Vincent Hospital nurses and their supporters rallied in Worcester hours ahead of a planned strike amid the coronavirus pandemic, as the hospital says it’s ready to bring in replacement nurses when the union nurses start picketing this morning.
The 800 nurses plan to start the strike at 6 a.m. today, and neither side was budging for an 11th hour deal on Sunday evening as the nurses gathered across the street from the hospital.
Nurse Marlena Pellegrino, co-chair of the bargaining unit, at the rally said they’re prepared to “take the ultimate step” against Dallasbased Tenet Healthcare.
“This was not an easy decision for us, but Tenet has forced this upon us through their total disregard for patient care, their total disrespect for nurses and all of the frontline staff who have been sacrificing our lives, our families’ lives, to keep you safe before and during the worst public health crisis in the history of our city, state and nation,” she said to hundreds of nurses and community and labor supporters.
Nurses at the rally held signs that read, “Safe Staffing = Safe COVID Care.”
“We are striking because the conditions in that hospital every day on every shift are dangerous for patients and for those of us who care for our patients,” Pellegrino said.
Last week, Tenet made an offer to increase some staffing levels and pay, but the nurses with the Massachusetts Nurses Association said the proposal didn’t go far enough and came back with a counterproposal. That counter-offer to boost staffing levels higher did not result in a deal. A hospital spokesperson on Sunday said they have “listened attentively to our nurses and made multiple increasing offers to the MNA.”
“We presented the best proposal in ten years that comprehensively addresses wages, including increases as high as 36% for some nurses, and increases to differentials, benefits improvements of up to $4600 for part time nurses in out of pocket premium costs, enhanced ER security and staffing,” the spokesperson said.
When a deal wasn’t reached last week, the hospital began focusing on filling nurses’ shifts during the planned strike. The hospital has replacement nurses at the ready.
“This strike will only exacerbate divisiveness during a critical stage of the COVID19 pandemic when we should be coming together to care for our patients and community,” the spokesperson said. “We value our relationship with all our employees, and we are committed to resolving the contract negotiations. While we respect the nurses’ right to strike, patients and their loved ones can be assured that our patients will continue to be cared for by qualified replacement registered nurses during this strike action and our hospital will be operational during this time.”