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Monday Strike Looms Over Negotiations Between BMC And Nurses

https://www.bmcnurses.com/

A strike is looming over Berkshire Medical Center as the Pittsfield, Massachusetts hospital and its unionized nurses continue contract negotiations.

Amid drawn-out contract negotiations with hospital ownership, Massachusetts Nurses Association members went on strike in October. The hospital locked them out for five days. Then, a second strike was called in January. By February, it had been rescinded. But now, the 800 or so registered nurses at Berkshire Medical Center plan to carry out a second one-day strike Monday.

“They came up with a concept that seemed interesting to us, gave us more health. So we decided to go along with the concept that they had come up with," said Amber Van Bramer, a registered nurse and union bargaining committee member. She spoke to WAMC on June 5th after the latest breakdown in negotiations. “Last night’s session, they were supposed to come with a physical proposal, so they did, but it was nothing compared to what they made it seem like at the last session," Van Bramer told WAMC. "There was no relief for nightshift, and only two nurses for the around 300-bed hospital that we have.”

She said the nurses registered their displeasure with the hospital and returned with their own proposal.

“They said absolutely no, so our members made it clear to us that if they did not move, that we needed to give our notice,” said Van Bramer.

And that they did, setting up Monday’s planned strike.

The hospital, through a press release issued by spokesman Michael Leary, responded to the strike notice by calling its contract offer “generous” and the possibility of a second strike “disruptive.” It said that “on June 4 Berkshire Medical Center added to its proposal a fifth year of the new contract and offered in that year a 3% pay increase with an additional 2% adjustment for its top-of-scale nurses, bringing the 5-year pay adjustment to at least 19%.” It characterized the nurses and their union’s course as “confrontational” and their contract terms as “a serious risk over time” to the hospital’s operations.

The hospital said it was withdrawing the latest offer because of the strike notice.

“We issued a 24-hour strike, that is what our members voted on, and that will start 7 a.m. on Monday, June 18th," said Van Bramer. “I think they need to admit that there’s a problem in the hospital and  be willing to work with us and give us the resources that we need.”

After 22 months, the two sides remained locked in talks scheduled to run through the weekend.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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