Unionization vote scheduled for Framingham Union Hospital nurses. What to know

FRAMINGHAM — Nurses at the Framingham Union Hospital campus of MetroWest Medical Center have an official date for an election to determine whether to unionize.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association has confirmed to the Daily News that the Framingham Union Hospital nursing staff's election date will be Wednesday, Jan. 10. If a majority of those who vote choose the union, the National Labor Relations Board will certify the union as the nurses' representative for collective bargaining.

"It's exciting, we have been waiting since September, then we thought it was going to be in October, and Tenet has been dragging this out, and to get the news is really satisfying," said Adam Crawford, a nurse at Framingham Union.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. is the Dallas-based company that owns and operates MetroWest Medical Center, which includes Framingham Union Hospital in Framingham and Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick.

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Framingham nurses have been trying to unionize, citing issues with staffing, wages and what they say is a lack of support for nurses that has led to many to leave the hospital. They say lower staffing has led to longer emergency room waits for patients, services being shut down and occasionally ambulances being diverted from the hospital.

Nurses petitioned to have an unionization vote in September, but claimed Tenet delayed action on cooperating with a potential election. The case eventually went before the NLRB, with the NLRB stating that Tenet was required to permit an election.

Crawford said "75% to 80%" of the hospital's nursing staff have expressed support to unionize, and that he looks forward to getting the union approved.

"Going forward, we are looking to work with Tenet to rebuild our facility," he said. "We know there is going to be a lot of negotiating in 2024."

Tenet administrators did not respond to inquiries made by the Daily News for comment.

Nurses advocate for unionization at City Council meeting

Framingham Union nurses appeared before the City Council on Dec. 19, advocating their need to unionize.

Tom Chaput, a nurse who has worked at the hospital since 1980, said the hospital's ability to serve the community has declined since it shifted from being a nonprofit hospital to being owned by Tenet.

“When I started, we had 311 beds in the hospital, we had a very active school of nursing, we were very active in the community and the community showed us great support,” Chaput told councilors. “Several years later, due to Medicare changes, a couple hundred beds were deregulated to the point we only have 100 beds in the hospital that are regulated by Medicare.”

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Chaput said that in the past, when nursing staff brought up the prospect of unionizing, the hospital made concessions that have satisfied nurses.

“We’ve had several union drives in the past, and conflicts have been resolved, even though the union never came in," he said. "Administration and the employees have seemed to work fairly well to accomplish a common goal. Through the years that has deteriorated, and presently, I believe the state of the hospital is in critical condition.”

Chaput said the hospital has five X-ray technicians, but zero overnight coverage. The operating room staff has gone from 40 to 15, with Chaput saying it's because the hospital is far behind in paying competitive wages.

“We have lost those numbers because pay and benefits have lagged so far behind other staff in the area,” he said.

City Councilor John Stefanini said during the Dec. 19 meeting that Tenet had been invited to attend the council meeting, but declined. Stefanini then suggested the council write a letter encouraging Tenet to hold a unionization election, which is required by the National Labor Relations Board.

“I’d like to make the simple motion that we write to Tenet, given the fact that we invited them tonight and they did not attend, and ask them to hold an election as soon as possible, as required by NLRB,” Stefanini said.

Nurses would join Mass. Nurses Aassociation

If nurses do vote to unionize, they will join the Massachusetts Nurses Association. The 25,000-member union represents nurses throughout the state, including at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, which is also owned by Tenet, and Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

MNA President Katie Murphy, a Framingham resident, spoke during the Dec. 19 meeting about the benefits unionization can have not only for nurses, but patients at Framingham Union.

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We filed for election back in September and we need to have that election,” Murphy said at the time. “In the contracts we have won across the state, we have put in very strong language protecting patients as far as limits the number of patients a nurse can take on at one time. Getting breaks, making sure there is equipment. We have a protected voice to advocate for our patients.”

Murphy said a common statement from hospitals is that there is a shortage of nurses. She said that isn't true, instead blaming lackadaisical practices imposed by companies like Tenet that drive nurses away from working at hospitals such as Framingham Union.

"We have more nurses today in Massachusetts than we did before the pandemic, we are churning out a couple of thousand every single year," she said. "It is circumstances like this that are causing nurses and health care professionals to flee the bedside. They will not work under these standards."

The Jan. 10 unionization vote will apply only to nursing staff at Framingham Union Hospital, and not to those at Leonard Morse.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham Union Hospital nurses have unionization vote on Jan. 10