Saint Vincent negotiation with nurses union isn't fruitful

Photo | Grant Welker Saint Vincent Hospital nurses picketing outside the Worcester hospital in the early days of the 300-day strike, which ended in January 2022.

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By Grant Welker

Saint Vincent Hospital met with union nurses on Monday for the first time in more than eight weeks, but the gathering didn't bring the two sides any closer to an agreement to end a strike ongoing since March 8.

Instead of bringing the Worcester hospital and representatives from the Massachusetts Nurses Association toward a deal, the two sides instead traded insults through press releases.

"Unfortunately, Tenet came to the table without addressing the nurses call for safer staffing standards that the nurses had raised prior to the strike, and which had been communicated to the mediator on Friday when the negotiations were scheduled," the union said in a statement Monday evening.

The only change to the hospital's proposal, the union said, was the creation of a committee to review staffing levels but without what it said was a commitment to improve conditions. The union said it would continue the strike and be in contact with a mediator to see if there's still a path toward an agreement.

Both sides have said the hospital isn't budging on its across-the-board patient-to-staff ratios. The union calls the ratio an unsafe burden on caretakers, while the hospital says it is in line with those of other hospitals.

Saint Vincent released its own statement a few hours later late Monday.

"After we presented our proposal, the MNA bargaining committee spent about 60 minutes reviewing it, told us that they had no questions and that they would share it with their members. They then ended the session without making a counterproposal, and without suggesting a time for a follow-up session," the hospital said.

"The MNA bargaining committee has now fully proven they don’t care about facts and won’t negotiate," the statement continued. "Their words are hurtful and disrespectful. The MNA dismissed our proposal without even the courtesy of a discussion or feedback, and issued a press release that focuses on continuing the strike rather than preparing for continued discussions at the table."

Saint Vincent included a brief hopeful note in its statement: "We remain hopeful that we can continue negotiations with mutual respect, and reach an agreement soon. Until then, we will continue to focus on caring for our community.”