'Rally Against Replacement' At St. Vincent Hospital Hosted By Reps. Trahan, McGovern
WORCESTER (CBS) -- Representatives Lori Trahan and Jim McGovern hosted a "Rally Against Replacement" at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester on Saturday. Nurses there have finished their 10th straight week of striking over what they say are unsafe staffing levels.
Tenet Healthcare, which owns the hospital, announced Wednesday that it will hire 50 permanent replacement nurses.
"Tenet made a $400 million profit last year. They have plenty of money to address the concerns of St. Vincent nurses, but they won't. It's wrong," said McGovern. "Tenet needs to quit the scare tactics, get back to the bargaining table, and stay there until fair working conditions for nurses and safe nurse-to-patient ratios are reached."
"As elected officials, we'll continue to stand with these heroic nurses, as well as our brothers and sisters in labor, and support their efforts to make St. Vincent a safer place for the patients – many of whom are family, friends, and neighbors – they care for," said Trahan.
Negotiations between the nurses and Tenet broke down last week for the third time.
When the strike is over, nurses who used to hold those jobs will not get them back. Instead, they will be placed on a "preferential hire" list.
The strike is the third-longest nurses strike in state history.
