Ed Markey joins Saint Vincent nurses picketing for better staffing in contract battle

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey joined nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester picketing for better staffing and patient care measures amid heated contract negotiations with Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.

“To Tenet, St. Vincent nurses are just a budget line, but to the people of Worcester and beyond, they are a lifeline. Tenet is putting their profits before patients, and it is completely unacceptable,” said Markey, who gathered with the nurses in snowy conditions outside the hospital on Thursday.

The nurses have been picketing every day outside the hospital from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Markey called the nurses “lifesavers” and said, “I join you in your frustration and I raise my voice with you to fight for justice.”

Last week, the nurses voted to authorize a strike and Massachusetts Nurses Association spokesman David Schildmeier told the Herald, “We are proceeding with plans to, at some point, issue a strike notice.”

He said they are also in the process of securing a strike location and providing education to nurses about what to do financially during the strike.

Nurses had told the Herald that poor staffing levels at the hospital have led to overloaded nurses who don’t have the time to dedicate the necessary attention to all patients, creating unsafe conditions.

A statement from the hospital said MNA has been presented with “the best package in ten years” that includes substantial pay increases and a comprehensive staffing offer.

“Rather than accept this generous proposal, the MNA has threatened to strike and held to its demand that the hospital increase staffing in unsustainable ways. We hope it doesn’t come to that,” read the statement.

Schildmeier said, “The goal here is to reach a settlement not to strike.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3dqd3Il