Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1425875
BY MONICA BENEVIDES WBJ Senior Staff Writer W hen nurses at Saint Vincent Hospi- tal in Worcester went on strike in March, it would have been hard to predict the work stoppage would last the better part of a year, with no clear end in sight. Eight months into the strike, which was primarily over staffing ratios, the Massachusetts Nurses Associa- tion, which represents nurses at the hospital, and leader- ship at Saint Vincent Hospital, which is owned by Tenet Healthcare Corp. of Texas, have negotiated a contract which assuaged nearly all of the nurses' demands. at was in August. e final sticking point is whether the union nurses can return to their former positions. In the eight months since the Worcester nurses first stepped out on March 8, the labor climate has become one of the hottest issues in the country. Labor shortag- es, particularly in low-wage industries, have upended portions of the economy, and so many businesses are dealing with strikes nationwide, including a labor strike comprising roughly 10,000 union members at John Deere facilities in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas, a more than month-long strike involving more than 1,000 union members across Nabisco outposts in five states, and several either undergoing or potentially forthcoming strikes at hospi- tals across the country, leading the national media to brand October as Striketober. "I don't think anyone really predicted this moment that we're in, and I'm not sure anyone totally un- derstands what's going on," said Eve Weinbaum, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center. As the strike at Saint Vincent remains high profile, Labor organizing Although the efforts may not be as high-profile as the Saint Vincent nurses strike, employers should expect more worker-led movements for better benefits and working conditions National union wages vs. non- union wages, 2020 Median weekly earnings for full-time union members $1,144 Median weekly earnings for full-time workers who do not be- long to a union $958 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Continued on next page Nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital continue picketing as an ongoing strike originally started over patient-to-nurse staffing ratios enters its eighth month. wbjournal.com | November 8, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 13 PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT