David Hench, Portland Press Herald, October 27, 2011 Portland - The state's largest nurses union voiced its support for the Occupy Maine protesters today and delivered a load of blankets and other supplies to the encampment in Portland's Lincoln Park. Occupy Maine is linked to the Occupy Wall Street movement and is protesting a system they say benefits the wealthy and corporations at the expense of others. Cokie Giles, president of the Maine State Nurses Association said the union advocates for similar goals as the protesters: livable wages and universal health care and education. ... Nurses

Josie Huang, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, October 27, 2011 Being that it's still October, few are happy about the first snowfall being forecast for many parts of the state tonight. But the cold weather - and promise of even more bitter temperatures to come - is a particularly serious problem for the dozens of people protesting corporate greed at Occupy Maine encampments in Augusta and Portland. Health care professionals are warning protestors about frostbite, hypothermia, the flu. As a show of solidarity with protestors and concern for their well-being, a dozen nurses with the Maine State Nurses Association delivered supplies to the Occupy Maine tents ... Union

AJ Higgins, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, October 13, 2011 Action groups representing organized labor gathered at the state capitol today to voice their dissatisfaction with Maine's two US senators, who continue to oppose President Barack Obama's jobs plan. The rally was organized by the Maine AFL-CIO and Maine People's Alliance, whose members favor a federal financial transaction tax on banks. Supporters claim the tax would raise more than $300 billion dollars annually to fund the American Jobs Act, but opponents say the tax would impose an additional burden on job creation. ... Maine

Lauren Morrison, WABI, September 1, 2011 Bangor - Maine nurses want Wall Street to pay up, in the form of a new tax.

Maine nurses rallied together Thursday to speak out about returning money from Wall Street, to Main Street America.

The National Nurses United organization says this proposed tax would only involve taxing big stock firms when they do large transactions.

The nurses, who were in Downtown Bangor Thursday, believe the billions of dollars that could come from this tax would help everyday Americans receive the healthcare they need. ... Nurses

Mike DeSumma, WCSH-TV, June 8, 2011 Bangor - Unionized nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center say that they are planning to fight a plan by hospital administrators to eliminate positions there. Last Monday leaders at Eastern Maine Medical Center announced that a decrease in income was forcing the hospital to cut jobs. Administrators said the cutbacks would affect everyone from nurses to clerical workers and healthcare professionals. Nurses with the Maine State Nurses Association at EMMC claim the plan would mean fewer bed side nurses at the hospital and would also eliminate two nursing positions that deal with teaching new mothers how to breast feed. The nurses union agreed to a new one-year contract with hospital administrators in late April.

National Nurses United, May 5, 2011 In one of closest votes in its history, nurses represented by the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses United ratified a one-year agreement with EMMC late Tuesday evening. Nurses at EMMC have been in bargaining since August 2010, and had to strike EMMC in November to demonstrate their commitment to safe patient care. The three major points of contention were staffing, job security and health benefits. "I am accepting this contract because we made progress in assuring that patient safety would be addressed," said Mandy Dickey, RN. ... Nurses

The contract, effective for one year, resolves issues that have kept the two sides at odds for months. Maine Public Broadcast Network, May 4, 2011 Eastern Maine Medical Center's board of directors has approved a one-year contract with unionized nurses at the facility. The board endorsed the contract - ratified by nurses last night - at a meeting this afternoon. EMMC and its more than 830 unionized nurses have been at odds over staffing levels at the facility and other issues, such as the nurses' health care plan. ... EMMC

WABI, May 4, 2011 Bangor - Union nurses at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, have voted on a new agreement with the hospital. Tuesday night, union officials notified hospital administrators that they had endorsed the one-year contract put forth at last week's bargaining session. EMMC's Board of Trustees will take a look at the agreement Wednesday. We're told the hospital's bargaining team will make a recommendation for approval. Union nurses have been working without a contract since September. ... Union

Stephanie Bouchard, Healthcare Finance News, May 3, 2011 Bangor – Hospitals across the country have been rocked by nursing strikes over the last year. The upcoming months show no let up, which means that hospitals will continue to face major disruptions both financial and otherwise. In the last year, nurses went on strike at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital in Pa., Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center, Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and at 14 hospitals in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, among others. Two strikes are scheduled in Massachusetts this week and a five-day strike is scheduled at Children’s Hospital Oakland, California ... Nurses

Jackie Ward, WCSH, April 29, 2011 Bangor - After eight and a half months, the Maine State Nurses Association and Eastern Maine Medical Center have reached a contract agreement, although it's only a tentative one year deal. The nurses have been working without a contract since September. The union has now withdrawn its notice to strike on May 5th and EMMC is planning to halt preparations for a five-day lockout. Both sides will be presented the plans next Tuesday. If the nurses union votes in favor of the plan the contract will be in effect immediately. ... EMMC

Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, April 29, 2011 Bangor - Neither side was willing to talk details, but negotiators for both Eastern Maine Medical Center and for the 830 unionized nurses who work there said on Friday they were relieved to have reached an 11th hour agreement for a one-year contract, thereby averting a threatened five-day work stoppage. “We are very happy, and proud of our bargaining team and the nurses who have worked so hard on this issue,” said Vanessa Sylvester of the Maine State Nurses Association and National Nurses United. ... Contract

WABI, April 29, 2011 Bangor - Negotiations between Eastern Maine Medical Center and its nurses union seem to finally be making some headway. EMMC administrators have come to a one year tentative agreement with the union representing the nurses. A one day strike planned for Thursday May 5th, has since been withdrawn by the nurses union. Nurses Union Rep Judy Brown tells us they did get changes on all of their major goals, including insurance and charge nurse assignments. She says neither side got exactly what they wanted but it is "baby steps" toward the overall goal. ... Nurses

FierceHealthcare, April 27, 2011 Nursing groups at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine, Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Tufts Medical Center in Boston announced yesterday they're each planning a single-day strike. EMMC nurses say they'll walk out on May 5 and Boston clinicians on May 6. All three groups cite staffing levels as their core concern and are clearly frustrated with contract negotiations that have dragged on since 2009. Earlier this month, hospital administrators reported rumors that clinicians would strike just before the Easter holiday, but the unions only just gave their required 10-day notice yesterday. ... New

Meg Haskell, Bangor Daily News, April 27, 2011 Bangor - With the second nursing strike in six months looming next week, the rhetoric is heating up between administrators at Eastern Maine Medical Center and the approximately 830 unionized registered nurses who work there. The nurses’ threatened one-day strike is set for May 5, with a previously scheduled contract meeting planned for May 3. But Tuesday evening, the two sides announced they will resume talks with a federal mediator on Wednesday in yet another effort to avoid the planned walkout. If Wednesday’s talks fail, hospital administrators say they will bring in replacement nurses for five days ... EMMC

Catherine Pegram, WABI, April 26, 2011 Bangor - Union nurses and hospital administrators at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor are hoping a last-minute bargaining session, scheduled for Wednesday, can avoid a one-day strike next week. But if negotiations fail, hospital officials say they're prepared to lock out nurses for four more days beyond the strike and hire replacements. Nurses have been working without a contract since last fall, saying there's not enough staff to take care of patients. Hospital officials say that's not true. The nurses went on a one-day strike in November and were locked out for two more. ... Union