MNA: RNs at Lawrence General Hospital to Picket for Better Patient Care Conditions, Nurse Staffing, and Wages on Tuesday, April 8th

, /PRNewswire/ -- The 550 registered nurses working at Lawrence General Hospital, who are unionized with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), will hold an informational picket in front of the hospital on Tuesday, April 8 as they fight for a fair contract to address unsafe staffing conditions, alarming recruitment and retention challenges, and stagnant wages that are preventing nurses from providing the care patients in the Greater Lawrence community expect and deserve.

"As frontline caregivers, we serve as a lifeline for this community, meeting patients in times of great crisis, when their very lives are on the line, yet it is getting harder and harder to be there for these vulnerable patients under the current working conditions," said Laurie Spheekas, RN, a longtime nurse at the facility and co-chair of the nurses local bargaining unit with the MNA. "We are holding this picket to alert the community about the situation in the hopes that working together we can win an agreement that provides quality, community-based patient care."

Nurses began negotiations for a new contract on October 16, with 10 sessions held to date. The negotiations have stalled over the nurses' call for appropriate staffing, wages and health insurance benefits that will allow them to recruit and retain nurses, nurses who are now leaving the facility, particularly younger nurses, for better staffed, higher paying facilities throughout the region. These conditions have resulted in excessive staff turnover and a 20 percent vacancy rate, well above the state average of 13.6 percent.

Back in February, a delegation of more than 100 nurses participated in a march to the CEO's office to deliver a petition calling for an agreement, which included signatures from 90 percent of the nurses. 

The nurses are seeking a wage increase that will keep pace with the wages provided at other area hospitals, while management has a proposal that will leave them far below the market. They are also seeking a more equitable and affordable health insurance benefit as they are currently expected to pay the highest share of health insurance premiums among hospitals in the region."

"The nurses of this hospital are committed to our patients and this community, and as such, we are utilizing this process and this picket to move our administration to join with us to negotiate an agreement the will ensure that when a patient pushes that call button, we can be there when it matters most," said Lynn Morgan-Risacher, RN, a longtime nurse at the hospital and co-chair of the MNA local bargaining unit.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on healthcare issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association