Mayor: Strike ‘needs to end now’
St. Vincent walkout nears 7th month
Worcester’s mayor blasted the leadership of St. Vincent Hospital as the nurses strike drags on, calling on the Tenet Healthcare CEO to visit from Texas “as soon as possible” to end the longest nurses strike in state history.
Mayor Joseph Petty cited the “dramatic increase” in residents contracting COVID-19 amid the delta variant spike and a shortage of beds and staff because of the nurses strike that surpassed 200 days last week.
“Let me be clear: The strike needs to end, and it needs to end now,” Petty said from Worcester City Hall Wednesday, later adding, “I’m hereby calling upon Dr. Saum Sutaria, corporate head of Tenet Healthcare in Dallas, to come to Worcester as soon as possible to negotiate in good faith.
“I’m asking that he and the Tenet team work with our nurses, resolve all issues in this dispute so we can address the needs of our community and end this crisis,” the mayor added.
More than 700 nurses joined the strike on March 8. Nearly seven months later, about 700 nurses are still striking.
The two sides recently got close to a deal to end the strike, but then there was a holdup over a back-to-work agreement. The Massachusetts Nurses Association has been pushing for a back-towork agreement that restores the nurses to their previous positions.
“It is my understanding that these nurses are ready and willing to reach an agreement and are desperate to return to their jobs,” the mayor said. “Tenet Healthcare is demanding that these nurses end their strike with no guarantee that they will return to their previous positions, or a commitment that they can return to work without fear of retaliation.
“These demands are unprecedented,” Petty added, saying they violate labor standards. “I want Tenet to know that we will not allow Worcester to be a testing ground for the imposition of unprecedented labor practices that harm unions of all workers.”
A spokesman for St. Vincent Hospital in response said the Massachusetts Nurses Association is “unwilling to explore creative solutions and continue the dialogue.”
“As long as the MNA refuses to compromise, it does not matter who is on the other side of the table,” the spokesman said.
“Unlike the MNA, the hospital’s bargaining team is open to discussing any alternatives to enable the parties to reach an acceptable compromise,” he added. “We have guaranteed a job for every striking nurse who wants one, and we are more than willing to discuss a range of compromises.”
The hospital said it estimates 85% of nurses would get their exact positions back, and “we will work individually with the remaining 15% to determine the best outcome for each of them.”