Qualified nurses ready to replace union nurses striking during the global pandemic

Worcester, MA – While we remain disappointed that the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the union that represents our nurses, is holding a strike starting tomorrow, March 8, at Saint Vincent Hospital, we are fully prepared and appropriately staffed to continue to provide safe, high-quality care to our patients. We believe this strike is irresponsible in the middle of an ongoing pandemic.

Over 18 months of negotiations, we listened attentively to our nurses and made multiple increasing offers to the MNA. We presented the best proposal in ten years that comprehensively addresses wages, including increases as high as 36% for some nurses, and increases to differentials, benefits improvements of up to $4600 for part time nurses in out of pocket premium costs, enhanced ER security and staffing. Our proposal for staffing included additional nursing roles, addition of COVID staffing guidelines and reassignment of two additional units to 1:4 staffing. Our staffing guidelines are already comparable to or better than those at peer hospitals, including many that are well-known brands for world-class medical care. Because of the costs associated with the strike, the Hospital may revise its offer to account for the economic impact of the MNA’s action.

This strike will only exacerbate divisiveness during a critical stage of the COVID-19 pandemic when we should be coming together to care for our patients and community. We value our relationship with all our employees, and we are committed to resolving the contract negotiations. While we respect the nurses’ right to strike, patients and their loved ones can be assured that our patients will continue to be cared for by qualified replacement registered nurses during this strike action and our hospital will be operational during this time.

Our community can be assured that our staff will remain focused on providing exceptional, safe, quality care to our patients.