WORCESTER — The 800 registered nurses at St. Vincent Hospital in contract negotiations with Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare voted Wednesday to authorize their negotiating committee to call for a strike if Tenet management refuses to increase staffing levels during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
David Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said there was an overwhelming "yes" vote to authorize the strike, which will take place in approximately 10 days if Tenet and the nurses' negotiation committee cannot come to an agreement.
The vote came the day before the parties’ next negotiation session, slated for Thursday, according to the nurses.
According to a news release from the nurses, Tenet refuses to heed nurses’ call to increase staffing levels to better protect patients. Nurses at St. Vincent are each responsible for five patients, and they are asking that the nurse-to-patient ratio be reduced to one-to-four by adding more staff.