On 177th Day Of Strike, Worcester Nurses File Unfair Labor Claim

WORCESTER, MA — The union representing striking Worcester nurses has filed an unfair labor practice against St. Vincent Hospital, saying that executives sought to retaliate against nurses who participated in the strike after the two sides reached a compromise two weeks ago.

During a round of secret negotiations that ended on Aug. 19, striking St. Vincent nurses agreed to accept an offer made by hospital executives. But when talks turned to returning the nurses to work, hospital leaders would not agree to return all the nurses to their previous jobs.

Tenet Healthcare, the for-profit corporation that owns St. Vincent Hospital, said that about 15 percent of striking nurses may not be able to return to their previous jobs. The hospital hired permanent replacement nurses during the strike, and some nurses did not participate in the strike.

"Let us not waste time about this last issue, but rather show the community we can resolve this by agreeing to a process to address the estimated 15 percent of striking nurses whose pre-strike roles may no longer be available," Tenet spokeswoman Shelly Weiss Friedberg said in an Aug. 19 news release.

The unfair labor practice complaint charges that the hospital is trying to retaliate against the nurses for going on strike in the first place. It's the eighth labor complaint the Worcester nurses have filed against St. Vincent and Tenet.

According to the nurses, the hospital also demanded the nurses drop the eight other labor complaints as part of a return-to-work agreement.

"Our members are clear: They are ready to end the strike to provide care once again, but not unless all nurses are returned to their jobs and can do so without fear of abuse because a for-profit corporation decided to retaliate against nurses who have been advocating for safer conditions inside our hospital," nurse and union negotiator Dominique Muldoon said in a news release.

A St. Vincent spokesperson disputed the number of labor complaints against the hospital, saying only five had been filed. National Labor Relations Board records show the Massachusetts Nurses Union (MNA) has lodged eight complaints dating back to 2009, including four filed since May. A local Teamsters union, which represents food service and other workers at St. Vincent, has also filed multiple labor complaints against the hospital in recent years.

"Filing unfair labor practice charges is a common tactic by unions to attempt to convert a strike to an 'unfair labor practice strike,' which would require the hospital to fire the 164 permanent replacement nurses it has hired," spokesman Matthew Clyburn said Tuesday. "Saint Vincent Hospital vehemently denies that it has committed any such violations."

The filing of the unfair labor practice comes on the strike's 177th day, the longest nurses strike in state history, according to the MNA.