Brockton Hospital RNs Negotiations End Without Movement by Management

Both Sides to Meet Again on May 9th

Hospital Refuses to Budge on Mandatory Overtime and Staffing Issues. Hospital's Stance Increases Likelihood of a Strike

Contract negotiations between registered nurses and management at Brockton Hospital ended today with no resolution of the key issues in dispute. After four hours of talks, negotiations were suspended and a follow-up session was scheduled for Wednesday, May 9, 2001. Brockton management continues to refuse to commit to provide appropriate staffing and/or to negotiate any limits on mandatory overtime at the facility, which are the key issues that have led the nurses to authorize a strike at the facility.

For their part, the nurses, who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, made an offer to reduce their salary proposals, along with what they were seeking for a number of shift differentials in an effort to move the process along. The hospital has yet to respond to the nurses' offer. The nurses, however, are awaiting the hospital's movement on the issue of mandatory overtime. The nurses have a proposal on the table that calls upon the hospital to make their best efforts to staff the hospital to avoid mandatory overtime, grant all nurses the right to refuse mandatory overtime if they are too fatigued to provide safe care, limit the number of hours of mandatory overtime to no more than 4, and limit the number of times in a year that a nurse can be mandated to no more than twice per quarter.

The hospital continues to refuse to agree to these limits, arguing instead that the nurses accept a proposal, rejected on April 10, that would offer limits on the number of times a nurse would be mandated to work overtime, only after the nurses had met a threshold of voluntary overtime for the year. The nurses consider the proposal absurd and have made clear their intention to go out on strike unless the hospital enters into a serious negotiation that includes a commitment to staff the hospital appropriately to avoid overtime and to put in place real limits and protections for nurses against being forced to work overtime.

In the interest of offering creative solutions on the issue, the MNA nurses also made a proposal that would create an incentive for nurses to work extra hours and shifts on a voluntary basis. Under the proposal, nurses could volunteer to pick up extra hours and shifts at time and one-half.

"We have engaged in a good faith effort to settle this contract," said Tina Russell, co-chair of the nurses bargaining unit. "We have come down in our economic package and we have offered an incentive program that would allow the hospital to generate voluntary overtime hours. For their part, they continue to refuse to address the dangerous and unsafe staffing conditions that have made mandatory overtime the pivotal issue in this dispute. With an 83% strike authorization, our nurses have sent a strong and clear message that it is up to them to move in our direction on this issue. If not, they are forcing us to go out on strike."

The talks broke off early because management refused to release the co-chair of the nurses' bargaining unit (who has to be part of the negotiating process) from her scheduled work shift. They insisted that if she stayed, she would have to use her own vacation time. The nurses' bargaining committee refused to negotiate under those circumstances and immediately scheduled another session.

"This is just another example of the lack of respect Brockton management has for its nurses, and their reluctance work with us to reach a settlement of this contract," Russell said.

The nurses and management will resume contract talks at the Brockton Holiday Inn on May 9 at 10 a.m. If the hospital doesn't significantly alter its positions at the table, the nurses have scheduled a meeting with the membership on May 10th to schedule a date to issue a 10-day strike notice.

The negotiating session held at the Holiday Inn in Brockton today was the first round of talks since the nurses cast an overwhelming vote to authorize a strike over their concerns about mandatory overtime, staffing conditions and the hospital's salary proposal.

On April 23, the nurses voted 330 - 68 to authorize the union's negotiating committee to call a strike if the hospital continues to refuse to address the nurses' key concerns. The nurses are committed to negotiating to avoid a strike so long as the hospital engages in a good faith effort to reach a settlement.

In the last three years, inadequate staffing and mandatory overtime have been a regular occurrence at the facility. Since January, more than 79 nurses have been forced to work extra hours or entire shifts to compensate for a lack of appropriate staff.

The nurses are seeking strict limits on mandatory overtime, similar to provisions negotiated by the Massachusetts Nurses Association-represented nurses at St. Vincent Hospital/Worcester Medical Center last year. The St. Vincent nurses conducted a highly publicized 49-day strike over the issue in 2000, and have won national recognition for their stand over this public health issue. Since that time, other MNA-represented hospitals have negotiated similar provisions.

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