While the BMC CEO Holds a "Tea Party" for Nurses Inside the Building, Nurses Will be on the Street to Show the Public How BMC Really Treats its Nurses
When:
Friday, May 11, 2007 from 11 am – 4 pm (largest turnout from Noon – 2 pm)
Where:
On East Newton St. in front of the hospital (between Albany St. and Harrison Ave.)
What:
While most hospitals in the country are using this week – National Nurses Week (May 6 – 12) — to show their respect and appreciation for their nursing staff, the nurses at Boston Medical Center (BMC) will be demonstrating and leafleting on the street outside the hospital to protest new nursing management’s recent unlawful labor practices and the hospital’s disrespect for its nurses. The demonstration was planned to coincide with a “Nurses Week Tea Party” inside the hospital, which is being hosted by BMC CEO Elaine Ullian. The hospital’s actions threaten BMC’s ability to retain the staff needed to provide the care patients deserve.
In the wake of posting enormous profits of more than $45 million in 2006, the management at Boston Medical Center is targeting nurses’ contractually guaranteed rights and benefits. In recent weeks, the hospital has been refusing to honor contractually mandated summer vacation time for nurses and refusing to honor its negotiated agreements to pay nurses for overtime. This is occurring at a time when nurses are working harder and faster to deliver quality care under intense pressure from management to decrease the length of stay for patients and when managers on some floors, particularly the critical care units, have been routinely admitting more patients than is safe under the current staffing patterns. The newly installed director of nursing has shown a blatant disrespect for the nursing staff and their elected union leaders by refusing to even attend scheduled committee meetings to discuss concerns nurses have about staffing and the current negative work environment. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, has filed charges of unfair labor practice against the hospital with the National Labor Relations Board for its recent violation of the nurses’ rights.
Contact:
Ann Driscoll, RN (617) 268-6082
Nancy O’Connor, RN (781) 331-5089
Joe-Ann Fergus, RN (MNA) Rep) (781) 830-5742
David Schildmeier (781) 249-0430
