WORCESTER, Mass.—The past week has seen the pressure on Tenet continue to build as patient complaints and stories of deteriorating care made headlines, and political pressure intensified in favor of a fair settlement with the nurses on strike. Still, at the last round of negotiations on May 4, Tenet once again refused to budge from its demand to have the right to mandate up to eight hours of overtime, once again causing the talks to break down after nine hours of negotiations.

For their part, the nurses worked hard to reach an agreement, making a major concession in this round of talks. Initially, the nurses were opposing any language in their contract allowing mandatory overtime. On April 7, they modified their position, allowing up to two hours of overtime each shift, and an additional two hours of overtime per shift in emergencies. At the May 4th session, the nurses compromised further with a proposal that would give the hospital the right to require each nurse to work up to for hours overtime at the hospital's discretion, provided the number of mandatory shifts was held to eight per year and to no more than two per quarter. A nurse would still retain the right to refuse mandatory overtime if she felt too fatigued to do so and provide safe patient care.

The hospital would not relinquish its demand for the right to require eight hours of overtime per shift, or 16 hour shifts in total, with the last eight paid at double time.

"In essence, we gave this hospital an additional 20,000 hours of mandatory overtime per year, on top of the voluntary overtime we already give them," said Sandy Ellis, RN, spokesperson for the nurses' bargaining unit. "Given that this hospital has never had to use mandatory overtime in the past, we believed this would provide more than enough of the flexibility they say they need. Their refusal to accept this compromise once again confirms our worst fear, which is that they really intend to use mandatory overtime on a regular basis to staff this hospital."

At the end of the negotiations, the hospital made a final proposal to have the nurses end the strike and come back to work, while both sides submitted their last best offer on the issues of mandatory overtime, as well as the issue of flex time to an independent arbitrator. The type of arbitration proposed by the hospital is sometimes referred to as "baseball arbitration," where the arbitrator can only choose one of the proposals presented.

The nurses refused the offer to go to arbitration. In rejecting the offer, the nurses pointed out that the issue of flex time had already been agreed upon by both parties. Flex time is a policy where nurses are sent home on days the hospital feels census is low, forcing the nurse to compensate for their time lost with vacation time. At a previous negotiating session, both parties had agreed to phase out this policy over a three-year period.

"The most important reason for rejecting this proposal is that we cannot and will not place the future of our practice, the integrity of our nursing license, or the safety of our patients into the hands of a third party," Ellis explained. "We have made a commitment to ourselves, our patients and this community that we will not accept a contract that places nurses in jeopardy of working forced 16-hour shifts. The entire community has rallied behind this position, our nurses have put their very livelihoods on the line for this position, we can't afford to roll the dice and hand over this decision to someone with no vested interest in its outcome," Ellis added. "Tenet has once again attempted to use a public relations ploy to avoid doing what is best for its patients and this community. We will not allow them to escape their responsibility to us or their patients."

DPH Release Report of Poor Care by Nurse Replacements

As the strike continues into its second month, there are signs of continued problems inside the new Worcester Medical Center. On May 2, the Department of Public Health reported that three replacement nurses hired by Tenet Healthcare Corp. had been fired. The report was the first public report by DPH as part of a disclosure process mandated by Gov. Paul Cellucci the week before. Two of the nurses – part of a contingent of 125 brought in by Tenant from Denver-based U.S. Nursing Corps – were terminated after leaving a surgical patient unattended in a post-opertative recovery room. The third nurse was fired after delivering a newborn to the wrong mother for nursing. The following day, another patient appeared on television to recount her experience of being give an overdose of morphine, 10 times the dose ordered by her physician, by one of the replacement nurses. DPH and the Health Care Financing Administration have also begun a detailed inspection of the facility to uncover any deficiencies that might affect patient care.

Secretary of State Calls for Investigation of Nursing Board for Licensing of Replacements

In response to the problems with replacement nurses, Secretary of State William Galvin issued a call for an investigation into whether the state licensing officials at the Board of Registration in Nursing "recklessly" accelerated their review of the replacement nurses to support Tenet Health Care in breaking the nurses strike. In a statement to the press, Galvin stated, "it appears that in their reckless effort to assist Tenet Health Care Corp. import strike-breaking nurses, the Board of Registration in Nursing has put at risk the health of our citizens." Oversight hearings on the Board of Registration in Nursing and the issues outlined by Secretary Galvin will be held before the Joint Committee on Government Regulations on May 11, 2000.

Fallon Community Health Plan Pulls Day Surgery Patients to Pressure Tenet to Settle

On May 3, Fallon Community Health Plan, the regions largest insurer, upped the anti on its efforts to prod Tenet to reach a settlement by announcing its decision to begin shifting its day surgery patients away from Worcester Medical Center to another facility. The move is the second Fallon has made to convince Tenet to negotiate an end to the strike. A week prior, Fallon CEO Eric Schultz appealed to Tenet CEO Jeffery Barbakow to come to Worcester and "do whatever it takes to settle this strike quickly." Both moves by Fallon were based on increasing complaints by patients about the quality of care being delivered at Worcester Medical Center.

Mass Congressional Delegation Urges Tenet CEO To Come To Worcester to Reach Settlement

On May 3, the entire 12- member Massachusetts congressional delegation sent a letter to Mr. Barbakow of Tenet, urging him to personally participate in the talks to end the strike. The letter read, "We are seeking a quick, fair resolution of this dispute because we are concerned about the lasting impact of this strike on Worcester and Central Massachusetts. The nurses on strike are trained experts in their field and we believe that patient safety and quality of care for the patients at St. Vincent's Hospital could be compromised the longer the strike continues."

While this pressure did not convince Tenet to change its position, it did strengthen the nurses' resolve to maintain their strike and stand firm in their fight for safe patient care. They were further strengthened by a rousing demonstrations of support on Friday, May 5, 2000.

Sen. Kennedy Joins Nurses on Picket Line, Condemns Tenet for Stance in Talks

First, Senior Massachusetts Senator Edward M. Kennedy electrified the nurses with a rousing speech of support during a rally he joined on the nurses' picket line. More than 350 nurses, political leaders, labor leaders, and citizen supporters attended the event, as Sen. Kennedy made clear to the crowd on which side of the line he stood on this issue. Calling nurses the backbone of the nation's health care system, Kennedy strongly criticized Tenet for its stance in this dispute, and called upon them to reach an equitable settlement with the nurses.

"What's intolerable, what's unacceptable, what's unworthy of any American company is not to treat those nurses with the dignity and respect that they deserve," Mr. Kennedy said. "They're part of our hour heart, part of our community, part of our soul, and we insist that they be treated fairly – no required, forced overtime."

Mass. Teachers March With Nurses

Later that day, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, who were holding their annual meeting at the Worcester Centrum Centre, marched all 1,500 of their members out of the building and onto the picket line to join the St. Vincent's Hospital nurses. The crowd of picketers and marchers represented the largest gathering yet on the nurses' picket line.

Nurses From All Over State Celebrate Nurses Week With Day on St. Vincent's Line

Finally, on Sunday May 7, the nurses from across the Commonwealth and from around the nation celebrated National Nurses Week (National Nurses Week) with a Nurses Day on the St. Vincent Hospital Nurses Picket Line. The event drew more than 600 nurses from 28 different hospitals and health care facilities in the Commonwealth, with nurses traveling from California, Michigan, Rhode Island and New Hampshire to be with the St. Vincent's nurses and to show their support for their cause.

Once again, the nurses were supported by political and community leaders, with the featured speaker being U.S. Congressman James McGovern, D. Worcester, who told the nurses, "I come from a family of patients. I am grateful for all of you and what you have done for us. I am here to help you make sure that no hospital, whether Tenet or anyone else, forces you to work double shifts. I stand behind you, and I'll tell you why the whole community is standing solidly behind you. They understand you want the very best patient care."

The nurses have been attempting to negotiate their first contract with Tenet, the nation's second largest for-profit hospital chain, for more than two years. The 615 nurses have organized a union and been using the collective bargaining process to address their primary concerns about inadequate staffing levels and deplorable working conditions under Tenet management. Tenet's staffing levels are the worst of the 85 facilities where the Massachusetts Nurses Association represents nurses in the state. St. Vincent's nurses on the day shift are regularly assigned between 8 – 10 patients on days, and between 12 – 14 patients on nights. A safe assignment is no more than six patients on days, and 8 patients on nights. The nurses have filed more than 450 official reports of unsafe staffing assignments that "jeopardize patient care."

Tenet purchased St. Vincent's Hospital in 1997, and has also built the new $215 million Worcester Medical Center in downtown Worcester. Tenet was scheduled to open the new facility and move the patients into it on April 1, 2000. The move was postponed for two days because of problems with care being delivered by more than 120 replacement "scab" nurses provided by U.S. Nursing Corps, a Denver-based firm that specializes in providing strike breaking nurses to hospitals involved in labor disputes. The nurses are paid more than $4,000 per week as well as food and lodging. The move to Worcester Medical Center took place on April 3, 2000.

Back to Strike Page