Worcester Nurses Strike Mediator Offers To Bring Talks To D.C.

WORCESTER, MA — With the St. Vincent Hospital nurses strike at the five-month mark, a mediator between the two sides has offered to move talks out of Worcester and to Washington, D.C.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) said striking St. Vincent nurses have agreed to move talks to D.C., but hospital owners have not, according to a statement sent after negotiations ended on Tuesday without an agreement.

"We are always open to any opportunity that can move this process towards a positive outcome that will protect our patients, our community and our nurses," union leader and nurse Marlena Pellegrino said in the news release.

Hundreds of St. Vincent nurses walked off the job in March after months of negotiations to avoid a labor strike. Negotiations between the two sides began in November 2019 and mainly revolve around the number of nurses working in the hospital. The nurses say they are required to care for too many patients at a single time and want staffing boosted across the hospital.

Tenet has made several offers to nurses to end the strike, but all have been rejected. In early July, the hospital offered to boost staffing levels across four units in the hospital, but not all. The nurses are also negotiating a larger contract that includes wage and benefits increases.

A St. Vincent spokesman told the Worcester Telegram that an offer made to nurses on Tuesday was "close to the hospital’s final offer," adding that negotiations should remain local.