Union leaders say staffing levels and patient safety remain major concerns. — Citing months of unsuccessful contract negotiations, more than 1,200 registered nurses at UMass Memorial Medical Center’s University Campus in Worcester voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to authorize a 14-day strike.
The final vote, a union official told the News Service Wednesday night, was 1,233 to 17.
“No nurse wants to strike,” said Margaret McLoughlin, co-chair of the Massachusetts Nurses Association bargaining unit at the campus. “But our members have made it clear that they are prepared to do whatever it takes to secure a contract that protects our patients, improves safety, and makes this hospital a place where experienced nurses want to stay and new nurses want to build their careers.”
The union said the campus is the region’s only academic medical center and Level 1 Trauma Center.
Lack of staff is “a key sticking point in negotiations,” the union said, and language is being sought to ensure charge nurses, who serve as “quarterbacks on the floor,” can assist nurses, particularly newer ones, as they care for acutely ill patients with complex conditions.
The vote took place at the union’s Region 2 office in Worcester. It does not mean the nurses are immediately going on strike, but it gives the bargaining committee the authority to call a 14-day strike later if negotiations continue to fail to produce an agreement.
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