UMass Memorial reaches labor deal, while Nashoba Valley nurses vote to strike

Photo | Grant Welker UMass Memorial Medical Center's Memorial Campus in Worcester

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By Grant Welker

Two Central Massachusetts hospitals gave sharply diverging news on labor relations Thursday, with UMass Memorial Medical Center announcing it reached an agreement with its bargaining unit, while nurses at Nashoba Valley Medical Center said they've authorized a one-day strike.

Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer could face a strike if hospital management doesn't address key issues raised by members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the union said. A vote was held Tuesday and Wednesday by 124 registered nurses at the hospital.

Complaints raised by the union include high turnover, scheduling challenges, lower wages than similar hospitals and staffing shortages. The union said it has held contract talks through 13 negotiation sessions with hospital management since December.

Steward didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

At UMass Memorial, the hospital administration said it has reached a tentative agreement with a Massachusetts Nurses Association bargaining unit at its University Campus in Worcester. That tentative deal comes just days after union bargaining unit for UMass Memorial's Memorial and Hahnemann campuses voted to ratify their contract and members of the State Healthcare and Research Employees AFSCME Local 3900 membership ratified their four-year deal, according to the hospital.