WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - The Worcester mayor is calling for a deal to be made to end the longest strike in Massachusetts history.
Mayor Joseph Petty levied strong words against Tenet Healthcare, the company that runs St. Vincent’s Hospital.
“Let me be clear, the strike needs to end, and it needs to end now,” he said Thursday.
More than 700 nurses from the hospital have been on strike for seven straight months demanding better safety measures be put in place.
“I want them to know that we in Worcester believe they are irreplaceable,” Petty said.
The latest sticking point in negotiations has both sides stalled.
“A return to work agreement that puts nurses back in the positions that they vacated when we went out on strike. Very simple,” said nurse Marie Ritacco. “We want to come back into that building into our own positions.”
But, the Massachusetts Nurses Association says that is not what St. Vincent CEO Carolyn Jackson has offered.
Jackson told 7NEWS that 85 percent of workers could return to their original position — but, not everyone because the hospital has hired hundreds of replacement nurses during the strike.
“We would encourage the MNA to think of what creative alternatives they are willing to consider, that don’t involve forcibly removing the permanent replacement nurses,” Jackson said.
The strike has put a strain on patient care in central Massachusetts. UMass Memorial Medical Center recently had all its ICU beds filled, and a doctor from that hospital told 7NEWS he hopes the strike ends soon to alleviate the issue.
The mayor alongside City Councilor Sarai Rivera is calling for the head of Tenet to fly to Worcester to personally to finish the negotiations.
“Come and make sure that we are putting people over profit,” Rivera said.
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