Registered nurses (RNs) represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain reached a tentative agreement today with hospital management, averting a strike at the facility.

While the bargaining committee is not discussing the details of the pact at this time, they are very satisfied with the four-year agreement, as it addresses the nurses' key issues going into today's talks, and will recommend the agreement to the rank and file membership for ratification. The union will now work on getting a copy of the agreement to its members for review and will schedule a vote for ratification next week.

On June 8, the nurses cast a 95% vote to authorize their union leadership to call a strike if necessary. The nurses cast the vote as contract talks had bogged down over the issues of staffing, mandatory overtime, salary inequities and the nurses' call for reinstatement of their wage scale. All of these issues were addressed satisfactorily in today's talks.

The nurses last met with management on June 13, 2000, with little or no movement made towards a settlement. Following the talks, the nurses' bargaining committee met with the rank and file membership and were given the go ahead to deliver the strike notice at the end of negotiations today if an agreement was not reached.