Nurses, Tenet Healthcare working on a deal at St. V’s
Management, nurses work on a deal
St. Vincent Hospital nurses who have been striking for eight weeks reported a “positive step” in negotiations with the hospital management team, the first sign that the two sides are possibly nearing a finish line for a new contract.
St. Vincent nurses and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare on Saturday held the second round of negotiations since the Worcester nurses launched their strike on March 8.
The nurses, who are with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, reported that Tenet made a proposal that “opens the door to a substantive discussion on the nurses’ main issue, which is the need for safer staffing levels to ensure safer patient care.”
“The nurses negotiating committee will take the next few days to meet and carefully evaluate the hospital’s proposal,” the Massachusetts Nurses Association said in a statement, adding they will return to the bargaining table on Wednesday with a “comprehensive response on what nurses need to settle the contract and end the strike.”
The nurses said they won’t discuss the specifics of the hospital proposal, but “see it as a positive step in the process.”
Ahead of Saturday, the hospital said it requested through the federal mediator that the Massachusetts Nurses Association return to the table so the management team could present an alternate proposal.
“We made it clear to the mediator that we are willing to return to the table at any time to resolve the strike and agree on a contract,” Carolyn Jackson, CEO of St. Vincent Hospital, said in a statement. “Despite the union’s rejection of the last two attempts by the hospital to compromise on staffing, we plan to offer one more solution.
“Negotiations are about compromise, and we are hopeful the MNA will be reasonable and work with us to bring this strike to an end to benefit our nurses, patients and community,” Jackson added.
Last week, nurses and hospital management were unable to strike a deal after the two sides returned to the bargaining table for the first time since the nurses started walking the picket line.
Tenet last week presented an adjustment to its most recent proposal, but the nurses rejected it.
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.
The hospital has brought in replacement nurses during the eight-week strike.