Striking Worcester Nurses To Mark 200 Days With Solidarity Event

WORCESTER, MA — The Worcester nurses strike reached the 200-day mark on Thursday, and there's a rally planned for Saturday to mark the event.

Close to 700 nurses walked off the job on March 8 seeking a new contract with boosted staffing levels. Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) leaders and hospital executives agreed to a new contract in August, but nurses are still on strike due to an impasse over how the nurses will return to work.

Tenet Healthcare, the for-profit company that owns the hospital, has 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.

Even with replacement nurses, St. Vincent is still short nursing staff, which is hurting the region's health system with COVID-19 patients taking up most critical care beds. UMass Memorial CEO Dr. Eric Dickson said last week during a news conference the nurses strike is keeping up to 100 beds offline at St. Vincent. Dickson and other officials urged both sides to end the strike soon as cold weather nears, bringing the potential of even more coronavirus cases.

A rally on Saturday — the 202nd day of the strike — will feature a variety of labor and social justice groups. The event begins at 2 p.m. outside the north entrance of the hospital at 123 Summer St.