Baystate Franklin nurses authorize potential 1-3 day strike amid staffing dispute

Registered nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center voted 98.2% on April 14 to authorize a limited duration strike of 1-3 days, escalating pressure on Baystate Health to agree to a union contract that protects patient safety and preserves local care. The vote followed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over what nurses described as an illegal and unsafe staffing proposal.

The vote does not mean nurses will automatically go on strike. It gives the elected MNA Bargaining Committee the authority to schedule a strike of between one and three days if necessary, depending on how negotiations proceed. Negotiation sessions are scheduled throughout April, and any strike would require the legally mandated 10-day advance notice to the hospital.

The unfair labor practice charge focuses on Baystate's proposal to use a non-union float pool by bringing in Baystate system nurses from outside BFMC and tying that proposal to existing contractual nurse-patient limits. Nurses said the proposal would:

• Undermine enforceable staffing protections that are critical to patient safety.
• Introduce nurses unfamiliar with the unique demands of a rural community hospital.
• Place additional strain on permanent staff and increase risk for patients.

Nurses are calling for a contract that ensures safe, high-quality patient care, the preservation of hard-fought nurse-patient staffing limits, competitive wages to recruit and retain experienced nurses, protections for nurses who are sick or injured, and local, community-based care in Franklin County.

BFMC is the second largest employer in Greenfield and the sixth largest in Franklin County, and nurses said a fair union contract is critical to the economic health of the community. They said Baystate is offering wages that lag other unionized hospitals in the region and statewide averages, undermining efforts to recruit and retain experienced nurses.

Nurses said safe patient care at a rural community hospital depends on a permanent nursing workforce that knows the community and can manage a wide range of needs without extensive specialty support. They said Baystate's staffing proposal would weaken standards that keep patients safe and affect local care in Franklin County.