(Ed.'s Note: Please forgive some repetition in the information on how to
support the striking nurses. We've added some new names to the mailing list,
and want to be sure all are up to speed on how to express support for the
justice of the striking nurses' cause. With recent additions, this strike
bulletin now spans the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. This week we'll
concentrate on adding groups of nurses in Canada, as well as across the
United States. A special word of appreciation to the California Nurses
Association for yesterday's half-page ad in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette
exposing Tenet Corporation's atrocious record and supporting the St. Vincent
nurses' stand for patient safety and the integrity of the nursing profession.
Here are two web sites of particular importance in spreading the message:
Massachusetts Nurses Association <http://www.massnurses.org/> with a special
page dedicated to the news from the strike, with extensive background
information and suggestions on how to help. Bill Bumpus of the Somerville
Labor Party Club [the folks whose single-payer universal health care ballot
question won 84.2% of the vote last November] has been posting for the last
week each of these unofficial Worcester strike bulletins for your reference
<http://users.rcn.com/wbumpus/worcester.html>. -- SE)

Strike spokesperson Sandy Ellis' reply to yesterday's question as to whether
Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin made it to Tuesday evening's
candlelight vigil outside Worcester Medical Center:

Secretary of State Galvin did attend the vigil and spoke. He was very
supportive, saying that the striking nurses are on the front line of causing
reforms in this state.

In Solidarity,
Sandy

--------------------------------

St. Vincent Strike:Directions

.Directions to To St. Vincent Hospital:

Take the Mass Pike to exit 10B which will say Auburn exit then take 290 to
Worcester. Get off at the Kelly Square Exit 13. Take a right at the lights
and go up the hill. At top of hill bear to the left of fork go through the
light you will see the Hospital on your left.

.To Worcester Medical Center:

From 290 East or West use Kelly Square Vernon Street exit. Go through Kelly
Sq. take Green St.(To the right of Merit gas). Go to end of Green St.- take
right at lights. Follow past Fashion outlets, Medical Center in on your right
across from Worcester Centrum.

.To MNA/St. Vincent Strike Office
29 Endicott Street . Worcester, MA . 508-792-2181:

Directions from Mass Pike--Auburn Exit 10 - After leaving Toll Plaza, take
290 East towards Worcester. Take Exit 12 (Rt. 146 Brosnihan Square/Millbury).
At bottom of ramp, take left under 290. Follow street to end. Take right -
this is Quinsigamond Avenue. Then take 2nd right - this is Endicott
Street. We are at 29 Endicott Street.

Directions from 190 or 495-Take 290 West. Take Exit 12 - before you reach end
of ramp, take a sharp right (Harding Street). Take a left Ashmont Street) at
the Stop sign. Follow this street to the end. Take right onto Quinsigamond,
then take 2nd right which is Endicott Street.

----------------------------------

The Worcester Community has Rallied Behind the Nurses!

Royal Blue, the symbolic color of the old St. Vincent Hospital, is now being
used as a show of support by members of the Worcester Community. Everywhere
you look there are people wearing royal blue ribbons: doctors who support the
nurses, fireman, school teachers, community members, and even young students.

If you would like to get a royal blue ribbon to wear on your lapel, to tie
around your Oak Tree, or to put on your car antenna, please call the strike
headquarters at 508-792-2181. They have a large supply of ribbons that have
been donated by loyal and supporting members of the Worcester community.

-------------------------------------

A Financial Support Fund for the Nurses Has Been Established:

.Make checks payable to:

MNA St. Vincent Hospital Bargaining Unit Strike Fund

.Mail payments to:

MNA Strike Headquarters
29 Endicott Street
Worcester, MA 01610

-----------------------------------

Send a message to St. Vincent CEO Bob Maher and tell him you support the
nurses and their stand on these contract negotiations. Tell him to go back to
the "table" and settle this contract NOW.

CEO Bob Maher
Phone: 508-363-6211
Fax: 508-798-1117
Email: robert.maher@tenethealth.com

Send another message to Bob Maher's boss, Tenet CEO Jeffrey Barbakow.

Phone: 805-563-6800
Fax: 805-563-6808
Email: jeffrey.barbakow@tenethealth.com

---------------------------------

Talks fail to deliver for nurses
Parties reach impasse as strike continues

Saturday, April 22, 2000

By Jim Bodor, Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER-- In an increasingly nasty test of wills, talks yesterday between
Worcester Medical Center and its striking nurses broke off in less than two
hours, leading both sides to declare an impasse.
The abrupt end appeared to signal a change in the tone of the talks.
While other sessions have concluded with the participants expressing
some optimism about a settlement, yesterday's left nurses and hospital
management convinced that the strike will end no time soon.
Asked how long he was prepared to wait out the striking nurses,
Worcester Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Robert E. Maher Jr.
answered, "Forever. And I'm not kidding."
The nurses appear just as determined to remain unified until they win a
contract to their liking. Spirits at the nurses' strike headquarters on
Endicott Street yesterday could only be described as defiant.
"It is our hope that the hospital will change their position," said
Sandy A. Ellis, a member of the nurses' bargaining team. "But if they are
unable to change, then the nurses intend to stay on strike. There is no way
we will accept a contract that includes forced 16-hour shifts. We will not
jeopardize our licenses or our patients in exchange for employment."
Most of the hospital's 535 full-time and 80 per diem registered nurses
went on strike March 31 after two years of talks with Tenet Healthcare Corp.,
which owns the hospital, failed to produce a contract. The strike started one
day before a scheduled move from St. Vincent Hospital, which Tenet also owns,
to the new medical center.
The move was completed April 3, two days later than scheduled, with 125
replacement nurses supplied by U.S. Nursing Corp. of Denver, and about 125
nurses who have crossed the picket lines. In recent days, the hospital also
has hired 20 replacement nurses not affiliated with U.S. Nursing.
At the start of yesterday's talks, one issue primarily divided the two
sides: mandatory overtime. The hospital wants the right to require nurses to
work up to eight additional hours per shift, paid at double time.
The nurses have offered to work up to two hours of overtime per shift,
with the option to work two more in case of unforeseen emergencies.
When yesterday's talks opened, the nurses expected the hospital to make
some kind of counteroffer on mandatory overtime, they said. When the hospital
made no such move, the nurses offered to discuss some type of guarantees on
staffing levels.
The nurses argue that the hospital wants to require overtime to avoid
hiring adequate numbers of staff. If the hospital were to guarantee, for
example, that no nurse would have to care for more than eight patients at a
time, the nurses might accept some type of overtime, they said.
"The issue of staffing is directly related to mandatory overtime; it has
always been that way to us," Mrs. Ellis said. "They refused to discuss
staffing, and they continued to demand mandatory overtime."
Hospital officials said that they went into the session hoping to
resolve the mandatory overtime issue. When the nurses brought up staffing
issues, they took that as a sign that the nurses were not prepared to
negotiate in good faith, said Paula L. Green, hospital spokeswoman.
"The negotiating team realized they were not willing to negotiate, and
they said, 'Well, that's all,' " she said. "To resurrect a major issue at
this point, it's apparent that they don't want to negotiate. You don't put up
a new roadblock when you're trying to work out the one you already have."
Staffing issues are not new to the talks, the nurses argue. They have
requested information since late last year about staffing and other issues
related to the new medical center, they said.
"Since September of 1999 we have had a formal request on the table for
information related to the relocation and staffing levels," said Anne
Spellane, a member of the nurses' bargaining team.
The hospital must have either mandatory overtime or a flex policy that
allows them to send nurses home on less-busy days, Mr. Maher said. Mandatory
overtime allows for lower staffing levels with coverage through overtime, he
said. Or, flex policy allows for higher staffing levels with the right to
reduce costs by sending nurses home on slower days, he said.
"It's so simple," he said. "We're not going to sign a contract that
doesn't have flex or mandatory overtime. We have to have that safety net."
Yesterday's session brings the strike to a new level of brinkmanship,
those involved said. Neither side has any plans to return to the bargaining
table any time soon. The nurses said they offered to set up fixed negotiating
dates with the hospital, and were turned down.
"We will wait as long as it takes," Mrs. Ellis said. "There are jobs in
other hospitals where our nurses are being treated very well." More than 100
of the striking nurses have taken temporary positions at other hospitals, she
said.
Mr. Maher said the hospital has no plans of returning to the table in
the near future.
In the meantime, the pressure of the strike is mounting on both sides.
The nurses filed a complaint yesterday with the National Labor Relations
Board charging that the hospital is refusing to negotiate in good faith.
Also, 57 doctors who send patients to the hospital have signed a
petition calling on Tenet to settle the strike as soon as possible. The cost
of the strike also grows daily. Mr. Maher has repeatedly refused to release
information about the cost of the strike, but acknowledged that it is high.
On the other side, the hospital continues to make direct appeals to
nurses to cross the picket lines and return to work. Those who cross the line
even now will be welcomed and returned to work without repercussion, Ms.
Green and Mr. Maher said.
"We hope that additional nurses will come back and see that this strike
is ludicrous," Mr. Maher said.
On Wednesday, the hospital issued a memo to its employees, asking that
they contact local politicians to urge their intervention on behalf of the
hospital. In the memo, Mr. Maher outlined talking points for employees, and
the names, addresses and telephone numbers of city councilors, state
representatives, state senators and other officials.
The nurses union will hold a membership meeting today from 2 to 4 p.m.
at the American Legion Post on Providence Street to update nurses on the
strike.
The union also will continue to hold rallies, vigils and other events to
keep the striking nurses' spirits high, they said.

© 2000 Worcester Telegram & Gazette

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