TEMPS RISING
CONTRACT FOR MERCY FITZ NURSES EXPIRES; NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE
Since Thursday, more than 200 nurses at Mercy Fitzgerald have been working without a contract in hopes of securing a deal that they say will help them provide better service to the community.
Having been negotiating with parent company Trinity Health since early August, another bargaining session between the two sides is set for Oct. 5. No strike authorization vote has yet been taken.
Approximately 280 nurses at Mercy Catholic Medical Center - Mercy Fitzgerald Campus are represented by the Mercy Fitzgerald Nurses’ Union, a division of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.
“We’re hopeful that the hospital will come back with an offer that we can accept,” Jackie Ximines, 14year Mercy Fitzgerald registered nurse and co-president of the Mercy Fitzgerald Nurses’ Union, said. Ximines also served 20 years at Mercy Philadelphia.
Officials for the administration likewise expressed optimism that a solution can be reached.
“Despite the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related financial impact the pandemic has had on our ministry, we at Mercy Fitzgerald remain fully committed to negotiating in good faith and with the goal of obtaining a fair, consistent and sustainable agreement with our nurses,” Christy McCabe, director of marketing for Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, said. “We continue to negotiate and are scheduled to meet again with union representatives in the coming days.”
The Mercy Fitzgerald Nurses’ Union co-president shared the union’s priority.
“The biggest thing that we want is a staffing grid,” Ximines said. “Right now, they don’t have the proper staff that they need.”
When coronavirus was at its peak in the spring, that situation was exacerbated.
“At the height of COVID, I can tell you it was the equivalent of working in a war zone,” Ximines said, adding that everyone at the medical facility did their best. “We all rose to the occasion ... We went above and beyond the situation with COVID.”
However, she added, “We can’t continue to work under those conditions.”
Medical professionals, and many others, are vigilantly monitoring the pandemic for the event of a possible resurgence. In addition, f lu season is approaching.
“You never know what is going to happen,” Ximines said.
She added that their priorities weren’t with wage increases or benefits.
“Our issue really isn’t with salary,” she said.
The co-president emphasized that the union members are concerned with “not having enough people to take care of people safely.”
“We just want to be able to serve the community the way they deserve,” Ximines said. “It’s a great hospital. We value the community.”
Mercy Fitzgerald is a 188-bed hospital that provides advanced acute services for those in eastern Delaware County and Southwest Philadelphia. It provides services for more than 186,000 people a year. Mercy Fitzgerald’s parent company merged with Michigan-based Trinity Health in 2012.
Trinity Health’s Catholic health care network includes 92 hospitals and 106 continuing care facilities in 22 states. Its annual operating revenues are $19.3 billion and they have assets of $27 billion. Company officials say they return $1.2 billion to the communities they serve annually through charity care and community benefit programs.
In April, Trinity Health announced 2,500 positions across its nationwide system would be impacted by a reduction of hours or a redeployment to positions in other locations because of the financial stresses created by the pandemic.