GREENFIELD — On the day after their one-day strike and the second full day of their lockout from Baystate Franklin Medical Center, a handful of nurses reported for their regular 7 a.m. shift Tuesday — only to be turned away, as expected.
Security staff at the steps of the hospital entrance denied their entry, telling nurses they were not authorized to be there.
The contentious, seven-month contract talks, which have stalled in recent weeks, seem to show no clear signs of advancing any time soon, as the hospital Tuesday suggested that the nurses union leaders had planned for the strike well before notifying the hospital.
The hospital said that three of the local leaders of the Massachusetts Nurses Association requested time off for the strike day, more than a month before the MNA delivered a 10-day strike notice to the hospital. The hospital would not say when these three nurses requested their time off, citing legal concerns for sharing the specifics of an employee’s schedule.
“They’re out there getting paid and had planned for this strike,” said Baystate Health’s Senior Vice President of Communications Jane Albert, referring to Monday’s strike.
She added: “One might speculate that they knew that long in advance,” that they would strike. “You don’t go on strike if you’re going to settle.”
Donna Stern, chairwoman of the nurse’s bargaining committee, said that those claims are a “lie” and “ridiculous.”
“That is absolutely incorrect,” Stern said about the hospital’s claim. “We’re in prime time. If you wanted vacation time, you had to put that in by Jan. 10. From June until August, if you want to put in pre-planned time off, you have to put that in by Jan. 10.”
Stern said that, for herself, the day of the strike fell on her typical day off. She said she had also taken off Tuesday by that Jan. 10 cutoff because she had a board meeting in New York for the Northeast Nurses Association.
In January, emergency department nurse and bargaining committee member Suzanne Love requested to take five days off anytime between June 26 to Aug. 26, spokesman Joe Markman said. The hospital then allotted her the time off during this week, back in January, Markman said.
Similarly, mental health unit nurse and bargaining committee member Jane Laferriere asked for two days off during this week back in January and then was told in February that she was given Sunday and Monday off, Markman said.
The hospital’s nurses approved their right to a one-day strike in March and then gave their necessary 10-day minimum notice of a strike on June 13. “Whatever they’re implying or whatever they’re saying doesn’t even make sense,” Stern said of the hospital administration.
These latest accusations follow claims on both sides that the other side is not willing to fairly bargain. The nurses claim that the hospital is running the shots called from parent Baystate Health in Springfield and not letting the local side take care of things while the hospital’s local president, Cindy Russo, pointed to Friday morning contract negotiations by the MNA at other locations across the state, with a threat of a strike at the Tufts hospital.
Throughout Monday’s strike, nurses, led by Stern, pointed to Baystate Health’s decision to call for a lockout before negotiations were completed lst Wednesday, a session that was continued Friday. They also have pointed to the hospital’s decision to release the announcement of charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board in the middle of negotiations Wednesday as a sign to the hospital’s disenchantment with fair bargaining.
“I have never seen anyone lock out nurses who want to work prior to their strike,” said Donna Kelly-Williams, the statewide head of the MNA, a nurse for more than 40 years and currently at Cambridge Hospital.
Russo said the lockout was in response to the strike notice.
“We did not determine any lockout before a strike notice,” Russo said. “They initiated this when they gave out a strike notice.”
During a conversation Tuesday morning, Russo also said that this strike and lockout will now likely have a significant effect on the hospital’s finances.
“It’s going to put us in a different color on our balance sheet,” Russo said, citing costs of three days of replacement nurese, which she said was the minimum amount of time for which they could book substitutes. If the hospital was to make money, Russo said, that would go to purchasing items like new equipment.
Russo declined to comment on the costs that the strike and lockout. But she said that the hospital did not budget for these expenses.
She also lamented the fact that Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of the hospital’s opening of its surgery center. She reminded that it was both funded by the community and Baystate Health.
“When they try to separate local versus corporate, I don’t know where they’re coming from because we are one system,” Russo said.
Stern differed, saying that local nurses run their local chapters of the MNA and that each bargaining unit runs itself its own way.
“The decisions that are happening at Tufts — the members are making their own decisions,” Stern said. “It’s unfortunate that we’re fighting over similar things, but our bargaining units are not working in unison.”
As the nurses tried to enter for work, Russo was inside the hospital.
“My focus has been inside here to make sure our patients are well taken care of,” Russo said. “Everything has been going smoothly inside.”
She said the hospital did not have any cancellations or postponements of scheduled surgeries Monday, but the typical in-patient intake was down.
Both sides have continued to express a desire to go back to the negotiating table and bargain.
Later on Tuesday, a couple dozen nurses walked from the hospital up to 525 Bernardston Road, past Cherry Rum Plaza, to the office of Tim Farrell, who is a Baystate Health board of trustees member. Leaders of the group spoke with Farrell in his office for about an hour.
“He’s local and we’re all local. He would love to see this contract get settled and we’re hopeful that he can maybe help us have that conversation,” Stern said, adding that she thought the meeting went well and that Farrell listened to their concerns.
By noon, the nurses organized on the Greenfield Town Common.
The lockout will continue through Wednesday at 7 p.m. when both sides hope the focus will turn back to the negotiating table, though there is no date to resume. Key issues remain for both sides: staffing, overtime, holiday and sick time, and health insurance plans.
You can reach Joshua Solomon at:
jsolomon@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 264