BROCKTON, Mass. —This week, 137 Massachusetts legislators cosigned a letter delivered to Brockton CEO Norman Goodman calling upon the hospital to "take the initiative and responsibility" to reach a fair settlement to end the nurses' strike that is now 69 days old. A copy of the letter and list of the cosigners can be found at the end of this press release.

"We believe the that the long term health of Brockton Hospital is at the core of the nurses' concerns," the letter to Goodman reads. "More specifically, we are concerned that low staffing and mandatory overtime puts an undue burden on the nurses, and we believe that the practice has the very real potential to decrease the quality of care for which Brockton Hospital and its staff are justly recognized."

The letter states the legislators' belief that the "nurses are acting in good faith" and states their hope that the hospital is truly "committed to ending this strike amicably."

"The nurses are extremely gratified that so many of the state's elected officials have spoken out on our behalf," said Linda McMahon, co-chair of the nurses' bargaining unit and a nurse for 17 years at Brockton Hospital. "They clearly understand the impact of unsafe staffing and mandatory overtime has on patients and families served by this hospital and have acknowledged that a settlement to this strike must address these pivotal issues."

The letter was drafted by State Rep. Christine Canavan of Brockton, a registered nurse and staunch supporter of the striking nurses. The letter is cosigned by the entire Brockton legislative delegation, with signatures from 30 of the states' 40 senators and 107 of the state's 157 representatives.

The legislative appeal follows two similar letters sent to the hospital management and trustees last week; including one from Senate President Thomas Birmingham and another letter cosigned by the entire Massachusetts congressional delegation. This is in addition to an appeal made three weeks ago by Massachusetts Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry.

As political support for the nurses grows and calls for the hospital to negotiate in good faith to end the strike intensifies, Brockton management has continued to refuse to make any substantive effort to bring the costly strike to a close. Talks last week, which was only the third time the parties had met since the strike began on May 25, ended when management refused to offer any formal proposals for the nurses to consider. Specifically, the hospital refuses to budge on the central issue in dispute, which is the nurses' call for a contractual commitment by the hospital to use its best efforts to fully staff the hospital to avoid the practice of mandatory overtime.

The nurses have been waiting since May 22 for the hospital to make a comprehensive proposal to move the talks towards a settlement to end the strike.

The contract language the nurses have been seeking to address staffing and mandatory overtime concerns is the same language that was negotiated by the nurses at St. Vincent Hospital last year, which ended the nurses 49-day strike. This same language, or language like it has been accepted by three other Massachusetts hospitals in the last four months. It is the first paragraph of this proposal that is the primary cause of the strike. Specifically, it reads: "The Hospital will reasonably determine the level of registered nurse staffing needed for safe and appropriate care on all nursing units, and will exercise its best efforts to provide that level of staffing through its regular and per diem nursing force without resort to overtime." By including this "staffing" language into the nurses' contract, the issue becomes subject to the traditional grievance and arbitration process. The hospital opposes the accountability such a provision mandates. The nurses believe they can no longer provide safe care to their patients, nor safely fulfill their obligations as a licensed nurse without some guarantee that the hospital will be held accountable for its staffing decisions.

Nurses at Brockton Hospital have a long history of problems with management over the issue of mandatory overtime, i.e. forcing a nurse against her/his will to work extra hours or shifts to compensate for a lack of appropriate staffing. It was the principle issue of concern in their last contract negotiations of 1998. While the hospital had promised to eliminate the problem, the practice continued at an even higher rate. The underlying cause of mandatory overtime is a shortage of staff. The hospital has refused to recruit and retain enough staff to safely operate the facility, while it has dramatically increased its census (patient volume) in recent years. There simply aren't enough nurses hired by the hospital to cover the shifts required to care for the patients being admitted to the facility.