PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Berkshire Medical Center nurses will conclude a 24-hour strike Wednesday at 7 a.m. and plan to re-enter the hospital to care for their patients. The hospital has threatened to keep BMC nurses from caring for their patients for four days, prompting RNs and community supporters to plan more public actions.
“We are ready to return to caring for our patients Wednesday morning,” said Gerri Jakacky, RN and Co-Chair of the MNA BMC Bargaining Committee. “Berkshire Medical Center nurses are irreplaceable. We walk the halls of this hospital every day, many of us for decades. We have an intimate knowledge of our patients, our technology, our staff and our community. There is no way that nurses outside of this facility, who have never worked in this hospital can step in and provide safe patient care to our patients.”
BMC has announced it will lock out BMC nurses and keep them from caring for their patients for four days as a consequence of the strike. The hospital said instead it will pay for replacement nurses from outside the community. The MNA is seeking information from the employer to counter evidence that this is retaliatory and therefore unlawful.
One-Day RN Strike Ends
What: BMC nurses and supporters gather before the 24-hour strike ends to support RNs planning to
re-enter the hospital to care for their patients.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 4 from 6:30 to 7 a.m.
Where: Outside Berkshire Medical Center at 725 North St. in Pittsfield and outside the North Adams
Campus at 71 Hospital Ave. in North Adams. Also at the Hillcrest Campus at 165 Tor Court
in Pittsfield at 7:30 a.m.
Public Rally Wednesday
What: BMC nurses, friends, family, community members and elected officials rally for safe patient care and a fair contract.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m.
Where: Outside Berkshire Medical Center at 725 North St. in Pittsfield.
North Adams Rally Thursday
What: BMC nurses, friends, family, community members and elected officials rally for safe patient care and a fair contract.
When: Thursday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m.
Where: Outside BMC North at 71 Hospital Ave. in North Adams
Look for more details on public actions by nurses and supporters through the weekend.
One-Day Strike Background
The nearly 800 registered nurses of Berkshire Medical Center, who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, delivered a 10-day notice to hospital management on Friday, Sept. 22 notifying BMC of their intent to hold a one-day strike beginning at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and running until 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
BMC nurses have been bargaining in good faith for a year, seeking to ensure that their patients are able to receive the safest and most effective nursing care possible. The hospital has refused to negotiate over concrete improvements to patient care and RN staffing. BMC management has also refused to provide information necessary for nurses to negotiate quality, affordable health insurance.
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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is 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.
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