The Massachusetts Nurses Association today praised Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), for introducing the American Health Security Act. Massachusetts Nurses Association, May 10, 2011 ... The Act establishes a national healthcare program that requires each participating state to set up and administer comprehensive health care services as an entitlement for all through a progressively financed, single-payer system, as administered by the states. ... The

Natalie Sherman, Boston Herald, May 7, 2011 Tufts Medical Center and the nurses union agreed to a new contract yesterday, narrowly averting a strike over staffing ratios. Representatives of the Massachusetts Nurses Association said they agreed to call off the strike after reaching a compromise: Nurses would not be responsible for more than six patients, about the same as current staffing levels, but no official ratio would appear in the contract. “We feel really good about this,” said nurse Barbara Tiller, chairwoman of the Tufts bargaining committee. “We’ve definitely gained some protections for our patients and our staff.” Nurses also will receive a 2 percent raise.

But staffing level issue remains unresolved. Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, May 7, 2011 Tufts Medical Center and the Massachusetts Nurses Association stepped back from the brink yesterday, avoiding a threatened strike at the Boston hospital. But the issue that divides them - nurse staffing levels - isn’t going away soon at Tufts or other medical centers. “It’s become a national issue: nurses being overwhelmed and overworked and not giving patients the kind of one-on-one care they prefer,’’ said health care consultant Jon Kingsdale, a managing partner in the Boston office of Wakely Consulting Group. ... Tufts

Robert J. Haynes, President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO, May 6, 2011 Congratulations to the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Tufts Medical Center for working through the collective bargaining process to reach an agreement. The contract will improve patient care at the world-class teaching hospital and recognizes the hard work and professionalism of the Registered Nurses at the facility. This agreement shows that while collective bargaining requires hard work from both sides – evidenced by the marathon negotiating sessions held during the last week – it is the only vehicle for achieving fairness in the workplace and reaching true compromise between labor and management. ... Statement

Pact Provides Nurses with Staffing Improvements, Limits on Patient Assignments in Key Areas, and Strict Limits on the Use of Mandatory Overtime as a Staffing Tool. Massachusetts Nurses Association, May 6, 2011 Boston - After a 15 -hour negotiating session, the registered nurses of Tufts Medical Center have reached a tentative agreement with management, averting a strike that was set to begin today. The 18-month pact includes a number of staffing improvements sought by the nurses to improve patient care at the facility. “We are proud of this agreement and what it will mean for the patients we care for every day,” said Barbara Tiller, RN, co-chair of the nurses’ local bargaining unit. ... Tufts

Jon Chesto, Wicked Local, May 6, 2011 Who would have thought National Nurses Day could have such an impact on contract negotiations? Well, the ceremonial holiday sure played a big role in finally ending an acrimonious labor dispute at Tufts Medical Center – just hours to go before the first nurses strike in Boston in 25 years was about to start. The Massachusetts Nurses Association had picked May 6 – because it’s National Nurses Day – as a strike day at Tufts Medical Center and Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester. Staffing levels were again a big issue at both hospitals. ... Tufts

Associated Press, May 6, 2011 Boston - A planned strike by nurses at Tufts Medical Center in Boston has been averted by a last minute labor deal. The nurses' union and hospital management reached a tentative deal on a new 18-month contract late Thursday night following a 15-hour negotiating session. The hospital's roughly 1,000 nurses had planned to strike Friday to protest what they called staffing levels that endangered patient safety. The union says the new pact includes an agreement that calls for the continuation of current staffing patterns. It also includes limits on mandatory overtime and a pay raise. Tufts President Ellen Zane said in a statement the hospital is "pleased" with the deal. A ratification vote is scheduled for May 19.

Tufts Medical Center, May 6, 2011 Boston - Tufts Medical Center announced this morning it has reached a tentative 18-month contract extension agreement with the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United, averting a 5-day strike the union had planned beginning at 6 AM today. "For the past six months Tufts Medical Center has negotiated in good faith with the MNA/NNU, and we are pleased that we have been able to reach a tentative agreement and avoid a strike," said Ellen Zane, President and CEO of Tufts Medical Center. ... Strike

Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, May 6, 2011 Negotiators for Tufts Medical Center and the Massachusetts Nurses Association agreed on an 18-month contract extension early this morning, only hours before 1,100 registered nurses were set to walk off their jobs at the Boston teaching hospital. The tentative deal, reached after 15 hours of bargaining yesterday and overnight, avoided what would have been the first nurses strike at a Boston hospital in 25 years. The nurses association withdrew its strike notice and scheduled a ratification vote for May 19. ... Nurses

Nurses threatening to hold strike today if deal isn’t reached. Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, May 6, 2011 Negotiators at Tufts Medical Center and the union representing its 1,100 registered nurses were locked in contract talks late last night in an effort to avert a strike labor leaders have called for this morning. If the nurses walk off the job at Tufts, it would be the first nurses strike at a Boston hospital in 25 years. But it was still possible the eleventh-hour bargaining could yield an overnight deal and the strike, authorized by the union rank and file last month, would be canceled. It was scheduled to start at 6 AM. ... Tufts

Chelsea Conaboy, Boston Globe, May 5, 2011 Negotiators from Tufts Medical Center and the Massachusetts Nurses Association have started the final session of talks before a strike scheduled for tomorrow. The Tufts contract is being held up by a disagreement over the maximum number of patients assigned to each nurse. The union last night announced that it had come to a tentative agreement that averts a strike at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester. The three-year agreement would limit staffing ratios to no more than five patients per nurse, the same measure that nurses at Tufts are pushing for. The hospital wants the flexibility to make it six as needed on certain shifts. ... Final

Associated Press, May 5, 2011 Worcester - A planned one-day strike by nurses at a Worcester hospital has been averted. Unionized nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital say they reached a tentative three-year labor deal with management on Wednesday, averting the strike planned for Friday. A ratification vote is scheduled for next week. The nurses planned to strike to protest staffing levels they say put patient safety at risk. The new contract says nurses would not have to care for more than four to five patients during the day and evening, and no more than five patients at night. The previous contract allowed nurses to care for up to six patients during the day and evening, and up to seven at night.

Three-year deal averts a strike at Saint Vincent. Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, May 5, 2011 Unionized nurses and management at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester agreed to a new three-year contract yesterday, averting a strike that had been called for tomorrow. Yesterday’s deal increases the pressure on Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where management and the nurses union plan to resume contract talks today in a last-ditch effort to prevent a strike there tomorrow. Talks at both hospitals, and at others across the state and nation, have centered on staffing levels. ... Nurses

Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, May 4, 2011 Tufts Medical Center management took issue with my post yesterday, which said the hospital and the nurses union are ''excruciatingly close'' to a contract agreement that would avert a strike on Friday. Even though they've whittled down their major disagreements to one outstanding issue - whether management can require nurses on most floors to care for six patients at once - spokeswoman Julie Jette said it's a significant issue. ... Tufts

Pact Provides Nurses with Industry-Leading Improvements in RN Staffing Levels. No Nurse Will Be Assigned More than 4-5 Patients on Days, No More than 5 on Nights As Well as Improvements in Staffing for the Care of Maternity and Critical Care Patients. Massachusetts Nurses Association, May 4, 2011 Worcester - After a 6-hour negotiating session, the registered nurses of the Saint Vincent Hospital have reached a tentative agreement with management tonight, averting a strike that was set to begin on Friday May 6. The three-year pact includes industry-leading, contractually enforceable RN-to-patient ratios that will transform the hospital from being one of the worst staffed hospitals ... Saint