Nurses, St. Vincent Hospital To Resume Talks Amid Strike

WORCESTER, MA — For the first time since a strike began in March, St. Vincent Hospital managers and nurses will negotiate over labor issues on Monday.

St. Vincent nurses walked off the job on March 8 after months of back-and-forth with the hospital over a host of issues, but mainly over staffing levels inside the hospital. The nurses want increased staffing ratios across most departments.

The two sides have been at odds over the past seven weeks, with the hospital accusing nurses of bullying colleagues who crossed the strike line. State and federal politicians, including U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, have visited the strike line to support the nurses.

St. Vincent nurse and union leader Marlena Pellegrino said she hopes the hospital will offer a serious proposal toward increasing staffing levels when talks begin on Monday afternoon.

"If this is their true intent, we will negotiate as hard and long as it takes to reach an agreement and get back where we have always belonged — at the bedside caring for our patients and the community we have served with pride for so many years," she said in a news release.

Negotiations are happening as St. Vincent's owner, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, prepares for its annual shareholders meeting on May 6. In the first quarter of 2021, Tenet reported net income of $97 million, up from $94 million in the first quarter of 2020. The company also updated its 2021 outlook, forecasting $3.2 billion in earnings — updated from $3.1 billion earlier this year.