07.26.2001

Sadly, Brockton Hospital continues to play games and engage in stalling tactics, as today's talks again went nowhere. The hospital refused to present any formal proposals to move the process forward, at the same time that more and more leaders from across the state are calling upon Mr. Goodman to take the initiative and responsibility to end this dispute. See and share the press release below which describes recent events.

Brockton Talks End Again With No Movement As Management Fails to Present Any Proposals to Reach Settlement

BROCKTON, Mass.—As the Brockton Hospital nurses strike completed its 63rd day, the nurses and management failed once again to reach an agreement in talks held today in the offices of the federal mediator in Boston. The negotiation session was only the third to be held since the nurses' strike began on May 25, 2001.

The talks ended when hospital management refused to offer any formal proposals for the nurses to consider, including a proposal to deal with the central issue in the dispute, which is the nurses' call for a contractual commitment by the hospital to use its best efforts to fully staff the hospital to avoid the dangerous practice of mandatory overtime. The nurses have been waiting since May 22 for the hospital to make a comprehensive proposal to move the talks towards a settlement to end the strike. While the hospital offered to "dialogue" about staffing issues, they refused to make any written proposals to move the process forward.

"We told the hospital that the only way collective bargaining can happen is through the exchange of and negotiation over proposals. We've been dialoguing about this issue for five years now with no positive result. We have told them repeatedly that they need to come closer to our position, particularly over the issues of staffing if we are ever going to reach a settlement to end this strike. Apparently, they are not ready to engage in serious negotiations at this time," said Linda McMahon, RN, co-chair of the nurses' bargaining unit.

The talks ended with an offer by the nurses to come back to the negotiating table, as early as the next day, if and when the hospital was ready to present a proposal to move the process along. The nurses are awaiting word from the federal mediator that the hospital is prepared to respond to their offer.

The hospital's refusal to submit substantive contract proposals comes on the heels of a number of appeals from prominent political figures in the state who have sided with the nurses in calling upon hospital management to take the initiative in negotiating a settlement. This week, Senate President Thomas Birmingham and State Senator from Brockton Robert Creedon visited the nurses' strike line to offer their support to the nurses. Senator Birmingham also mailed a letter to Brockton Hospital CEO Norman Goodman urging him to reach a fair settlement to end the strike. Also, yesterday, the entire Massachusetts Congressional Delegation signed onto a letter addressed to Mr. Goodman urging him to "redouble your efforts to resolve the ongoing contract dispute.." The letter goes on to say that "it is critical to address the impact of staffing constraints and related compensation issues if the hospital is to meet ..quality of care standards." Earlier this week, the Brockton City Council passed a resolve submitted by Ward 5 City Councilor Dennis Denapoli, calling upon both parties to come before the City Council to discuss the issues behind the dispute.

They key stumbling block towards a settlement continues to be the failure to adequately deal with the issue of staffing at the hospital. While the nurses are seeking a written commitment in the contract that the hospital will provide safe and appropriate staffing to avoid mandatory overtime, the hospital had proposed the formation of an "advisory committee" that would meet twice annually. The committee would "not have the authority to modify staffing levels...or to negotiate over terms and conditions of employment."

Before the strike began, the nurses had already told the hospital they had no interest in an advisory committee. In fact, the nurses and management have had a "professional issues" committee as part of their contract sine 1996. Over the last five years, staffing issues had been discussed at nearly every meeting of that committee, with absolutely no effort by the hospital to address the concerns raised. It is precisely because the nurses have been unable to have their concerns addressed through this committee and other avenues that they have gone out on strike to win language that holds the hospital accountable for providing adequate staffing.

"The problem here is the hospital continues to refuse to address the nurses' real concerns over long term problems with staffing at our facility," McMahon explained. "Instead of negotiating to address our concerns, they have used these negotiations to posture over the issue, taken out full-page ads to misrepresent and mislead the public about these issues, and purposely prolonged a strike that is costing this hospital millions of dollars."

The nurses have been seeking the same language to address staffing and mandatory overtime concerns that was negotiated by the nurses at St. Vincent Hospital last year, which ended the nurses 49-day strike. This same language has been accepted by three other Massachusetts hospitals in the last four months. It is the first paragraph of this proposal that is the primary cause of the strike. Specifically, it reads: "The Hospital will reasonably determine the level of registered nurse staffing needed for safe and appropriate care on all nursing units, and will exercise its best efforts to provide that level of staffing through its regular and per diem nursing force without resort to overtime.

Nurses at Brockton Hospital have a long history of problems with management over the issue of mandatory overtime, i.e. forcing a nurse against her/his will to work extra hours or shifts to compensate for a lack of appropriate staffing. It was the principle issue of concern in their last contract negotiations of 1998. While the hospital had promised to eliminate the problem, the practice continued at an even higher rate. The underlying cause of mandatory overtime is a shortage of staff. The hospital has refused to recruit and retain enough staff to safely operate the facility, while it has dramatically increased its census (patient volume) in recent years. There simply aren't enough nurses hired by the hospital to cover the shifts required to care for the patients being admitted to the facility.

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