WORCESTER, Mass. - After nearly 300 days on strike, the Massachusetts Nurses Association has reached a tentative agreement with Saint Vincent Hospital.
According to the MNA, the tentative agreement was reached Friday afternoon during an in-person session after two weeks of negotiations with federal mediators. U.S. Secretary of Labor and former Boston mayor, Marty Walsh, mediated the deal.
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, the company that oversees Saint Vincent Hospital, says once the agreement is ratified, the hospital will restore the 700 striking nurses to their previous positions while retaining all permanent replacement nurses in their current positions.
“The new contract will provide enhancements for patients and our team, and we are glad to finally end the strike and put our sole focus back on patient care,” Saint Vincent Chief Executive Officer Carolyn Jackson said. “We will be setting a new tone at Saint Vincent Hospital: We are one team with a common purpose. Not striking nurses versus replacement nurses. Not nurses versus management. One team united behind the principles of professionalism, excellence, accountability, and compassion.”
The MNA says the deal provided staffing improvements the nurses needed to end their strike.
"This agreement, and the improvements it includes, was hard fought, and represents a true victory, not only for the nurses, but more importantly, for our patients and our community, who will have access to better nursing care, which was why our members walked that strike line for the last nine months through four seasons," Marlena Pellegrino, a striking registered nurse and co-chair of the MNA bargaining unit, said.
The strike tentatively comes to an end after two years of negotiations, 285 days of picketing and more than 40 negotiating sessions. The Saint Vincent Hospital nurses strike is the longest nurses strike in the country in over 15 years and the second longest nurses strike in Massachusetts history.
There are hugs of relief as hundreds of striking nurses filed into a meeting Saturday to learn more about the tentative agreement.
“This is a victory for our patients, it’s a victory for nurses and for our community. We can’t wait to get back to work," Pellegrino said.
“I'm feeling so excited, so elated, so happy," Matilda Hammond-Rainey, a striking registered nurse said.
“We are definitely relieved that the strike is coming to an end and looking forward to the future," Jackson said.
The hospital says once approved, the agreement will allow striking nurses to get their old positions back, while also allowing replacement nurses to keep their jobs.
“There is such a staffing challenge across Massachusetts and across the country, we know we will have gaps in some areas of staffing, so it’s all about figuring about how we can have people float or move into the correct positions to make sure we are taking the best possible care of patients," Jackson said.
The MNA says the deal also provides staffing improvements the nurses needed to end their strike. Some nurses have picked up per diem jobs during the strike. The union says they don't know how many nurses are returning.
“As soon as we discuss all the details, there will be a vote and then nurses will have the opportunity to contact the hospital and let them know if they are returning or not, but we expect that the majority of St. Vincent nurses want to go back," Pellegrino said.
Nurses will still be out on the picket line until the agreement is voted on and approved. A date for the vote hasn't been set yet.