BEVERLY, Mass. — The more than 750 registered nurses working at Northeast Hospital Corporation’s (NEHC) Beverly and Addison Gibert hospitals, who are unionized with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), will hold an informational picket in front of Beverly Hospital on Wednesday, March 26. The purpose of the picket is to draw public attention to the nurses’ ongoing contract talks, where the nurses aim to win language that provides adequate staffing, and helps to recruit and retain nurses to ensure safe patient care.
What: Informational picket in support of the nurses and patients of Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals
When: Wednesday, March 26, 4 to 6 p.m.
Where: Beverly Hospital, 85 Herrick Street in Beverly
Who: The MNA RNs from both Beverly and Addison Gilbert hospitals, their families, friends, and neighbors; other local unions; elected leaders.
“We’re completely united for a fair contract,” said Larn Beard, RN and co-chairperson of the MNA union at NEHC, “one that guarantees our units are safely staffed and our patients receive the quality care they deserve.”
The informational picket follows seven negotiation sessions between the MNA RNs and NEHC management, during which little movement has been made by management on nurses’ key concerns:
- There are currently not enough RNs in the hospitals to ensure patients receive the quality of care they deserve. Too many nurses regularly leave for better paying nursing positions elsewhere, and recruiting and retaining nurses is an ongoing problem.
- The underlying issue creating the crisis in nurse staffing is the lack of competitive wages at NEHC. Other hospitals north and east of Boston have signed off on highly competitive wages for nurses in recent months. The MNA nurses at NEHC are bargaining for comparable wages but management refuses to bridge that gap in pay.
- Under current conditions, nurse staffing levels will remain unpredictable and dangerous unless NEHC management addresses the above concerns during these contract talks.
- Additionally, NEHC nurses are fighting to protect their existing health insurance plan.
“We return to the bargaining table on April 1,” said RN and bargaining co chairperson Sue Hall. “And we expect the solidarity on display at this informational picket will move the needle in these contract talks.”
The Beth Israel Lahey Health System owns Northeast Hospital Corporation, which includes Beverly Hospital, Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, and Lahey Outpatient Center in Danvers.
