MNA: Dana-Farber Merrimack Valley Nurses to Leaflet Outside Boston Hospital September 29 about DFCI Spending Money on Lock Out After Strike Instead of Investing in Nurses and Cancer Patients

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Sep 28, 2023, 10:53 ET

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Merrimack Valley nurses held a one-day strike seeking a fair contract and DFCI locked nurses out, spent money on replacement workers

BOSTON, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During a lockout inflicted on Merrimack Valley nurses and patients by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) following a one-day strike, nurses will meet outside the DFCI hospital in Boston on Friday, September 29 to leaflet the public and share their concerns about how Dana-Farber executives are spending critical resources.

Boston DFCI Event Details
Where: On the sidewalk outside Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston along Jimmy Fund Way.
When: 11 a.m. Friday, September 29
Who: Dana-Farber nurses from Boston and Merrimack Valley.
What: Nurses will be sharing leaflets with the public describing what DFCI – MV nurses are seeking in a first MNA contract so they can continue providing high-quality cancer care to MV patients.

DFCI – MV nurses and nurse practitioners held a one-day strike on September 27 because DFCI executives refused to make reasonable compromises with nurses to reach a fair contract.

Instead of reaching a reasonable compromise with nurses, DFCI is refusing to let nurses back to work following the strike.
DFCI executives are spending money on travelers rather than allowing local nurses to care for their patients.
DFCI is disaffiliating from Brigham and Women's Hospital and spending millions on a new inpatient hospital. Yet it won't invest properly in nurses serving a diverse population in MV.

DFCI – MV nurses have made compromises already and are seeking to secure Merrimack Valley-based benefits in their contract and pay that is competitive in Merrimack Valley and a reasonable difference from DFCI Boston pay. DFCI has made minimal movement since nurses announced their strike, including no agreement on maintaining benefits throughout the contract or daily overtime standards.

"We are incredibly grateful for the support our community showed us during our one-day strike," said Kate Mitchell, FNP-BC, AOCNP at DFCI – MV. "Patients joined us on the strike line because we are fighting for their cancer care, and they deserve nurses who are truly valued."

"Our strike showed that the Merrimack Valley community and our elected officials are behind us in our fight for a fair contract," said Kerrin Albert, Infusion RN at DFCI – MV. "Don't listen to Dana-Farber executives – we have compromised and made reasonable contract proposals. Dana-Farber has stubbornly insisted on giving us far less because we are not in Boston."

"Dana-Farber makes huge profits and enriches its executives while Merrimack Valley nurses must strike and be locked out for fair benefits and wages," said Errin D'Arcangelo, Oncology Nurse Navigator at DFCI – MV. "We think Dana-Farber should spend its money – which comes from patients, donors, and the public – on respecting nurses and maintaining high-quality patient care."

DFCI – MV nurses voted 97% to authorize a strike on August 2. DFCI – MV nurses held an informational picket on June 2. Among those in attendance supporting the nurses were State Senator Pavel Payano, D-Lawrence, and State Representative Ryan Hamilton, D-Methuen. "As you know, these healthcare professionals are on the front lines of caring for patients and liaising with families," Rep. Hamilton wrote in an August 2 letter to Dr. Laurie Glimcher, president, and CEO of Dana-Farber. "They play a vital role here in Merrimack Valley by supporting patients through the hardship of a cancer diagnosis and bolstering our fight against this disease."

DFCI – Merrimack Valley opened in 2020 with 24 exam rooms and 32 infusion bays. The location offers expanded cancer and blood disorder care and outpatient services for adult patients in the region. DFCI – MV nurses voted in June and July 2022 to form a union and join the MNA. The MNA also represents approximately 600 nurses at the DFCI campus in Boston under a separate contract.

Dana-Farber Financial Highlights

DFCI made $110 million in profits (excess of revenue over expenses) during the fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2023, according to the Center for Health Information and Analysis. It made $87.5 million during the previous quarter.
DFCI's total operating revenue for the first six months of FY2023 was approximately $1.5 billion, an increase of $196.9 million, or 15.7 percent, over the same period in 2022.
Dr. Laurie Glimcher, president and CEO of Dana-Farber, saw a 15.4% increase in pay during the COVID-19 pandemic. The institute's IRS 990 form shows Glimcher made more than $2 million in total compensation during FY2021.

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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 by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association