P R E S S R E L E A S E
March 7, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Gerri Jakacky, RN 413-281-3934
Patti Williams 781-363-0705
Charlie Rasmussen 781-363-0728
The MNA bargaining unit at Berkshire Medical Center announced today that the Strike Authorization vote scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 has been postponed until Tuesday, March 22 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The MNA negotiation committee made the decision in response to the intense campaign hospital administrators have waged against the nurses union. In the past week administrators have called nurses away from bedside duties to spread falsehoods, misinformation and outright lies in a naked attempt to create fear and to intimidate the members of the MNA bargaining unit.
According to Bargaining unit Co-chair Gerri Jakacky, RN, the decision was obivious, “The onslaught from management was so pervasive and complete we decided we need more time to counter the misinformation being put out by management. We wish the administrators had put as much energy into reaching a settlement as they have in trying to convince staff nurses the union is wrong. We feel confident that after 10 days of reasoned discussions the RNs will be better able to make an informed decision.”
The MNA committee is sorry for any inconvenience this postponement may cause. “We didn’t make this decision easily and sincerely apologize to any member who is inconvenienced, but the hospital administrators left us with no alternative. We need the time to get the truth out to our members,” said unit Co-chair Alexandra Neary, RN.
Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest professional health care organization and the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. The MNA is also a founding member of National Nurses United, the largest national nurses union in the United States with more than 150,000 members from coast to coast.
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