Joint Contract Negotiations End With No Movement; Management Walks Away from Joint Talks, Refuses to Address Staffing, Insists on All Takeaways

We are disappointed to report that after four days of joint negotiations with management to reach a fair and equitable contract for our nurses and our patients, management ended joint talks today with no movement on any of the key issues important to our membership.  While we expressed an interest in continuing to work jointly towards a settlement, management is insisting that we go back to the cumbersome process of conducting negotiations for each UMass bargaining unit at separate tables. 

 

During these negotiations, management refused to engage in any discussion of our main concern, which was to guarantee improvements in RN staffing levels at both campuses to improve patient care.   They also continued to insist that we accept cuts to our pension, health insurance and time off benefits. 

 

While management has walked away from joint negotiations, you need to know that whether we are at one table or two tables, our bargaining units will act as one force of 2,000 nurses who are committed to a process that protects your benefits and fosters a practice environment that ensures the highest quality care of our patients. 

 

 

In the coming weeks, we will need to step up our efforts to pressure management to engage in real negotiations for a fair settlement.  We have been pleased to see hundreds of nurses attend open meetings held over the last three weeks but we need to engage many more of you as we work together and strategize together for the tough fight that lies ahead.  To that end, we encourage members to join us next week for our next membership meeting at Coral Seafood.

 

You can expect future bulletins and emails listing a number of other meetings and activities where you can become involved in this process.  In this effort, rapid communication is key.  If you have colleagues who haven’t signed up to receive these bulletins, please have them share their name and email address with a member of the committee so they can be added to the list.