After fruitful discussions Saturday, Saint Vincent to meet Wednesday with nurses on strike
Photo | Grant Welker
Saint Vincent Hospital nurses went on strike from 2021-2022 for better patient staffing ratios.
Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and the union Massachusetts Nurses Association appear to be closer to ending the nurses strike ongoing since March 8, after the hospital agreed to modify contract language around staffing levels.
The two sides met on Saturday, where Saint Vincent made a proposal for staffing levels that mirrors that of UMass Memorial Medical Center, which is the other major hospital in Worcester. The union said it will respond to the proposal when the sides resume negotiations at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The strike has now lasted 57 days, the longest Massachusetts nurses strike in two decades. At the heart of the disagreement are the nurse-to-patient staffing ratios at the hospital, which the MNA tried to get all hospitals to adopt as part of a failed ballot initiative in 2018.
The proposal from Saint Vincent on Saturday also includes a staffing audit committee to address claims by the MNA about Saint Vincent not complying with the staffing guidelines. The proposal also includes raises for the life of the deal, as well as a retroactive pay raise to Jan. 1.
The union includes roughly 800 nurses, although about 100 have worked through the strike, a number that's slowly risen as the impasse has continued.
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