The Massachusetts Nurses Association has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Baystate Health Systems Inc. The nurses charge that Baystate has been bargaining in bad faith both at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield and Baystate Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice in Springfield. Both units of registered nurses have been attempting to negotiate new contracts.
The nurses at Baystate VNA have been in negotiations since January of 2011 and the Franklin Medical Center nurses have been in negotiations since October 2011. Just two months ago, Baystate entered into a settlement agreement with the National Labor Relations Board to resolve similar bad faith bargaining charges from last spring. The nurses’ new charges are based on Baystate’s regressive bargaining, failure to meet at agreed upon times and places, and refusal to provide information necessary to conduct negotiations.
Baystate’s actions are all violations of federal labor law which is intended to ensure productive collective bargaining. As a result of Baystate’s ongoing violations of the law, the Franklin Medical Center nurses are considering scheduling a strike to force Baystate to engage in lawful negotiations.
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