Post by HCFC45 on Dec 17, 2021 21:21:27 GMT -5
I know this does not have anything to do with HC, but my one of our posters, a friend and classmate married a St. V's nurse....
Earlier this evening it was announced that a tentative agreement had been reach regarding the longest nurses strike (285 days) in Massachusetts. Sad that it could not have been reached early on as it would have saved $$$$$$!
So happy that this looks like it will be over soon as it created so many problems that did not need to happen!!!
St. Vincent Hospital, nurses reach tentative agreement to end strike
Strike at Worcester hospital began March 8
Marco Cartolano
Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER — A tentative agreement has been reached between St. Vincent Hospital and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, according to both sides early Friday evening, signaling a potential end to one of the longest nurses strike in state history.
If the agreement is ratified, all striking nurses will be returned to their prior positions while hired replacement nurses will also keep their position, possibly resolving the biggest roadblock to ending the strike which entered its historic 285th day Friday.
Additionally, the decision to allow striking nurses to return to their original positions followed careful consideration of the clinical challenges expected this winter throughout Massachusetts, and the resultant need for as many nurses as possible to provide quality care for the community.
In a St. Vincent release, the hospital said it considered the clinical challenges expected this winter throughout the state in its decision to return striking nurses to their old jobs.
The Tenet Healthcare owned-hospital said there is a need for as many nurses as possible to provide quality care.
“The new contract will provide enhancements for patients and our team, and we are glad to finally end the strike and put our sole focus back on patient care,” Carolyn Jackson, CEO of St. Vincent Hospital, said in a statement. “We will be setting a new tone at Saint Vincent Hospital: We are one team with a common purpose.
“Not striking nurses versus replacement nurses. Not nurses versus management. One team united behind the principles of professionalism, excellence, accountability, and compassion.”
The St. Vincent Hospital nurses picket line outside the hospital in July. On Friday, the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Tenet Healthcare, which owns St. Vincent Hospital, struck a tentative agreement that would end the nine-month-long strike.
In a statement from the MNA, the union also confirmed that an agreement had been struck.
The agreement was reached after two weeks of discussions with federal mediators, and finally settled at an in-person session held Friday, which was mediated by U.S. Secretary of Labor and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, according to the union's press release.
A previous strike at St. Vincent Hospital was settled in May 2000, after nurses and hospital officials took part in five hours of negotiations in the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. They announced they reached a tentative agreement to end the nurses' 42-day-old strike.
The agreement comes after two years of negotiations and more than 43 negotiating sessions.
In an interview, Jackson said tentative agreements exist for both collective bargaining and return to work.
"We are glad that we have been able to agree and are looking forward to bringing a strike to a close," Jackson said
While the union said that the nurses did not get everything the nurses sought, the MNA claims it secured important staffing improvements.
“With this agreement we can go back into that building with great pride not just in what we got in writing in the agreement, but for what we have built together as nurses who know they did everything they could for their patients and their community,” Dominique Muldoon, co-chair of the bargaining unit, said. “Once this is ratified by the members, we are now committed to getting back into that building as soon as possible to provide the care our patients deserve.”
“I have nothing but pride and appreciation for all 700 nurses literally put everything on the line for their patients and this community," said Marie Ritacco, a member of the nurses negotiating committee. "There are so many of our members who won’t be impacted by this agreement who stood out there with us every day for their fellow nurses, but more importantly for our patients and for the city we so proudly serve.
"We have been so moved and uplifted by all the support we received throughout this ordeal, from people honking their horns, or stopping by with food or water, for those who put up signs or walked the line with us, for the dozens of unions, community and faith-based organizations that stood with us and supported us in so many ways, for the efforts of our Congressional leaders, members of our legislative delegation, the City Council and mayor — they all share in this agreement and we thank them all. Our strike struck a chord, and for that and because of that we will walk into that building with our heads held high.”
David Schildmeier, director of public communications for the MNA, briefly expressed his pride for the nurses, "I’m so proud of these people; they never gave up."
The union withheld specific details of the agreement until it could be shared with the rank-and file members for a ratification vote.
Striking nurses have been a consistent presence outside of St. Vincent for the better part of 2021, when the nurses went on strike in March. For months, the main issue pushed by nurses was a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1-4 for most floors, with the nurses contending current staffing conditions were unsafe for nurses and patients.
St. Vincent has maintained that staffing was adequate and safe, with Jackson saying the MNA was using the strike to enact ratios after a ballot measure mandating certain ratios failed in 2018. The hospital has also spent $30,000 a day for police details and installed cameras outside the hospital, claiming poor conduct by some striking nurses.
More recently, nurses said that most of the agreement had been worked out, but a disagreement existed with return to work policy, with nurses saying Tenet Healthcare, the owner of St. Vincent, was trying to punish senior striking nurses by not retaining their old jobs. St. Vincent leadership has maintained they wanted to honor their promise to replacement nurses.
Pressure to end the strike mounted as the delta variant of COVID-19 filled up hospital beds, with Gov. Charlie Baker, Mayor Joseph M. Petty, and members of the Worcester County delegation of the state Legislature.
Earlier this evening it was announced that a tentative agreement had been reach regarding the longest nurses strike (285 days) in Massachusetts. Sad that it could not have been reached early on as it would have saved $$$$$$!
So happy that this looks like it will be over soon as it created so many problems that did not need to happen!!!
St. Vincent Hospital, nurses reach tentative agreement to end strike
Strike at Worcester hospital began March 8
Marco Cartolano
Telegram & Gazette
WORCESTER — A tentative agreement has been reached between St. Vincent Hospital and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, according to both sides early Friday evening, signaling a potential end to one of the longest nurses strike in state history.
If the agreement is ratified, all striking nurses will be returned to their prior positions while hired replacement nurses will also keep their position, possibly resolving the biggest roadblock to ending the strike which entered its historic 285th day Friday.
Additionally, the decision to allow striking nurses to return to their original positions followed careful consideration of the clinical challenges expected this winter throughout Massachusetts, and the resultant need for as many nurses as possible to provide quality care for the community.
In a St. Vincent release, the hospital said it considered the clinical challenges expected this winter throughout the state in its decision to return striking nurses to their old jobs.
The Tenet Healthcare owned-hospital said there is a need for as many nurses as possible to provide quality care.
“The new contract will provide enhancements for patients and our team, and we are glad to finally end the strike and put our sole focus back on patient care,” Carolyn Jackson, CEO of St. Vincent Hospital, said in a statement. “We will be setting a new tone at Saint Vincent Hospital: We are one team with a common purpose.
“Not striking nurses versus replacement nurses. Not nurses versus management. One team united behind the principles of professionalism, excellence, accountability, and compassion.”
The St. Vincent Hospital nurses picket line outside the hospital in July. On Friday, the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Tenet Healthcare, which owns St. Vincent Hospital, struck a tentative agreement that would end the nine-month-long strike.
In a statement from the MNA, the union also confirmed that an agreement had been struck.
The agreement was reached after two weeks of discussions with federal mediators, and finally settled at an in-person session held Friday, which was mediated by U.S. Secretary of Labor and former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, according to the union's press release.
A previous strike at St. Vincent Hospital was settled in May 2000, after nurses and hospital officials took part in five hours of negotiations in the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. They announced they reached a tentative agreement to end the nurses' 42-day-old strike.
The agreement comes after two years of negotiations and more than 43 negotiating sessions.
In an interview, Jackson said tentative agreements exist for both collective bargaining and return to work.
"We are glad that we have been able to agree and are looking forward to bringing a strike to a close," Jackson said
While the union said that the nurses did not get everything the nurses sought, the MNA claims it secured important staffing improvements.
“With this agreement we can go back into that building with great pride not just in what we got in writing in the agreement, but for what we have built together as nurses who know they did everything they could for their patients and their community,” Dominique Muldoon, co-chair of the bargaining unit, said. “Once this is ratified by the members, we are now committed to getting back into that building as soon as possible to provide the care our patients deserve.”
“I have nothing but pride and appreciation for all 700 nurses literally put everything on the line for their patients and this community," said Marie Ritacco, a member of the nurses negotiating committee. "There are so many of our members who won’t be impacted by this agreement who stood out there with us every day for their fellow nurses, but more importantly for our patients and for the city we so proudly serve.
"We have been so moved and uplifted by all the support we received throughout this ordeal, from people honking their horns, or stopping by with food or water, for those who put up signs or walked the line with us, for the dozens of unions, community and faith-based organizations that stood with us and supported us in so many ways, for the efforts of our Congressional leaders, members of our legislative delegation, the City Council and mayor — they all share in this agreement and we thank them all. Our strike struck a chord, and for that and because of that we will walk into that building with our heads held high.”
David Schildmeier, director of public communications for the MNA, briefly expressed his pride for the nurses, "I’m so proud of these people; they never gave up."
The union withheld specific details of the agreement until it could be shared with the rank-and file members for a ratification vote.
Striking nurses have been a consistent presence outside of St. Vincent for the better part of 2021, when the nurses went on strike in March. For months, the main issue pushed by nurses was a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1-4 for most floors, with the nurses contending current staffing conditions were unsafe for nurses and patients.
St. Vincent has maintained that staffing was adequate and safe, with Jackson saying the MNA was using the strike to enact ratios after a ballot measure mandating certain ratios failed in 2018. The hospital has also spent $30,000 a day for police details and installed cameras outside the hospital, claiming poor conduct by some striking nurses.
More recently, nurses said that most of the agreement had been worked out, but a disagreement existed with return to work policy, with nurses saying Tenet Healthcare, the owner of St. Vincent, was trying to punish senior striking nurses by not retaining their old jobs. St. Vincent leadership has maintained they wanted to honor their promise to replacement nurses.
Pressure to end the strike mounted as the delta variant of COVID-19 filled up hospital beds, with Gov. Charlie Baker, Mayor Joseph M. Petty, and members of the Worcester County delegation of the state Legislature.
