From the archives: May 12, 2000: Deal reached in Worcester hospital strike
FROM THE ARCHIVES: This story was originally published on May 12, 2000. It details a resolution from an earlier strike.
WORCESTER — Worcester Medical Center nurses and hospital officials yesterday emerged from five hours of negotiations in the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to announce that they had reached a tentative agreement to end the nurses' 42-day-old strike.
Under the settlement, which must be ratified by the union, nurses can be asked to work up to four hours of overtime per shift no more than twice each quarter, or eight times per year. The agreement also allows nurses to refuse overtime because of illness or fatigue.
Union officials were euphoric.
``From our standpoint, it's a total slam-dunk,'' said David J. Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents the nurses. ``They said they would never, ever agree to a contract with less than 16-hour shifts. Well, never, ever has arrived. This is extremely strong language.''
The 17 members of the nurses negotiating team celebrated yesterday evening at the Dubliner bar in Washington, where Mr. Kennedy treated them to burgers and beer.
``This is pretty fantastic,'' said Julie Pinkham, director of the labor program for the association, as nurses cheered behind her at the Dubliner. ``They went ahead and agreed to all of our demands. Sen. Kennedy and Rep. (James P.) McGovern told them, `These nurses are right on this issue.' ''
`REVOLUTION IN NURSING'
Robert E. Maher Jr., chief executive officer of the medical center, said hospital officials realized it was time to settle the strike for the sake of the hospital and the community.
The hospital also recognized that nurses are prepared to take a stand over mandatory overtime -- with the support of many politicians, Mr. Maher said.
``We came to the conclusion that we are right at the beginning of a revolution in nursing, and we're at the front end of it,'' he said. ``We believe nurses throughout the United States are willing to work long and hard to fight mandatory overtime. We could have fought back and let this drag out, but that's not good for anybody.''
With city councilors and Mayor Raymond V. Mariano holding press conferences about the strike daily, and with nurses criticizing care at the medical center, the pressure became too large a distraction, Mr. Maher said.
``The cost was a factor, the damage to our reputation was a factor, the distraction of it was a factor,'' he said. ``Every day there was a new press conference to slam us one way or the other. We needed to recognize that this is a national trend, and move on.''
WEDNESDAY VOTE POSSIBLE
The tentative agreement, to be part of a three-year contract if ratified, is identical to the most recent proposal put forth by the union last week.
The details of when the nurses will return to work were still being determined yesterday. The union hopes to hold the ratification vote by Wednesday, Mr. Schildmeier said.
If the agreement is ratified, nurses will trickle back to work between June 1 and 11, according to the agreement. Hospital officials said they will spend most of next week deciding how more than 100 replacement nurses will depart, and how to orient returning nurses to the new hospital.
Most of the striking nurses have not yet been oriented to Worcester Medical Center, which on April 3 replaced St. Vincent Hospital, where they formerly worked. The nurses went on strike because they objected to the hospital's demand for the right to require up to eight hours of overtime as often as necessary.
The hospital still retains the right, for two more years, to send home nurses on less-busy days, Mr. Maher said. That will give the hospital the ability to manage staffing levels with less overtime, he said. Under the tentative agreement, the hospital will be able to send nurses home for seven days in the first year of the contract and four days in the second year.
MEDIATION SOUGHT
An investigation by the state Department of Public Health last week into medical center operations during the strike did not play a role in the settlement, according to hospital officials. That investigation was completed Friday.
DPH Deputy Commissioner Paul R. Jacobsen said yesterday he was unsure when the findings of that investigation will be made available. Earlier reports by the department found that three replacement nurses had been fired by the hospital for poor performance. One incorrectly handed a baby for nursing to a woman who was not its mother. Two others left a recovering surgical patient alone.
The surprising break in the stalemate came after Mr. Maher flew to Washington on Wednesday to ask Mr. McGovern, an avid supporter of the striking nurses, to broker a deal. Mr. Maher was joined by Steve Corbeil, a senior regional vice president of Tenet Healthcare Corp. of Santa Barbara, Calif., which owns the medical center.
The two spent six hours meeting in Mr. McGovern's office Wednesday night, periodically talking with Mr. Kennedy and members of the nurses' team by phone.
``They went down there to see if the congressman would get involved and get things resolved,'' said medical center spokeswoman Paula L. Green. ``After last week, we didn't know where to go.''
On May 4, negotiations between the hospital and the nurses broke down after nine hours when the nurses rejected a request from the hospital to go to binding arbitration.
EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT
The mandatory overtime issue was resolved during the Wednesday night meeting with Mr. McGovern, Mr. Maher said. In fact, before yes- terday's session and before the nurses arrived in Washington, Mr. Maher issued a memo to hospital staff announcing the settlement.
``We are pleased to announce that we believe we have resolved the key remaining issues between the striking nurses and hospital management,'' he wrote. ``Today, we expect to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement to end the strike.''
The nurses took a 10:30 a.m. flight from Boston to Washington for yes- terday's meeting, where the two sides worked out additional issues.
The nurses won the right, for example, to negotiate working conditions at the new center for up to 60 days. After 60 days, those issues will be sent to expedited arbitration.
``This is an important victory today,'' Mr. McGovern said. ``Not just for nurses, but for patients.'' Mr. McGovern said he had been ``cajoling'' both sides to bridge their differences.
Mr. Kennedy said the settlement will have broad implications for labor battles over workers' rights in health care disputes nationwide.
``It sends a strong signal to other nurses and other working men and women across the country that they can prevail if their cause is just and they stand up for their rights,'' he said.
HEAL DIVISIONS
Mr. Mariano, who also was in Washington yesterday for the talks, said that now the city can turn its attention toward healing the divisions brought about during the strike.
``Now the job of our community is to begin to celebrate this world-class facility,'' he said.
The nurses went on strike March 31 after two years of talks failed to produce a first contract with Tenet. The strike delayed the opening of the Worcester Medical Center by two days, but the hospital moved ahead with about 125 replacement nurses supplied by U.S. Nursing Corp. of Denver.
Roughly another 125 nurses did not participate in the strike, and made the move to the new medical center on April 3, its first day open.
While hospital officials have repeatedly refused to report the cost of the strike, they acknowledged that it cost thousands of dollars each week. U.S. Nursing pays its replacement nurses up to $4,000 per week, and also pays for their flights to a strike, and their food and lodging while there.
HEARINGS ON TAX BREAK
Hearings into a tax break given to the hospital remain scheduled for the week of May 22. City councilors called for the hearings after raising concerns about the number of jobs created by the construction of the $215 million medical center.
The tax agreement allows the medical center to pay roughly $40 million less in taxes than it would have, as long as it meets certain job creation requirements. Hospital officials say they are in compliance with the terms of that agreement.
Alex Canizares of States News Service contributed to this article.
Terms of the tentative agreement
1. Nurses can be asked to work up to four hours of overtime per shift no more than two times per quarter, or eight times per year.
2. Nurses have the right to turn down such overtime because of illness or fatigue.
3. The hospital must document its reasons for requesting overtime.
4. Disputes over the use of overtime will be referred to a committee. If the committee cannot resolve a dispute, it will be sent to binding arbitration.
5. The hospital must exercise its best efforts to avoid overtime. Failure to do so could result in grievances from the nurses.
6. All nurses will return to their jobs by June 11 at the latest. Their health and dental insurance will resume, and they will be reimburses for any such costs incurred during the strike.
Source: Massachusetts Nurses Association and Worcester Medical Center
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: From the archives: May 12, 2000: Deal reached in St. Vincent strike; Sen. Kennedy involved
