MNA Nurses at Baystate Noble Hospital to Hold Informational Picket with Community Members at Noon on Wednesday, October 21

WESTFIELD, Mass., Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses of Baystate Noble Hospital, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have scheduled a safe, socially distanced informational picket on Wednesday, October 21 at 12 p.m. outside the hospital.

Noble nurses, along with Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and community supporters, have also launched a public petition at bit.ly/supportnoblenurses urging Baystate Health CEO Dr. Mark Keroack to agree to a fair contract with Noble nurses that values the care they provide and improves and preserves local, quality care.

"Noble nurses will join with our community for an informational picket on October 21 to advocate for quality, local hospital services," said Paul Dubin, RN and MNA Co-Chair at Noble Hospital. "We cared for our community during the COVID-19 surge earlier this year and we are prepared to battle a second surge if necessary. Yet Baystate Health will not agree to a fair contract that values our hard work and allows Noble Hospital to recruit and retain the nurses it needs."

The informational picket was prompted, in part, by Baystate Health's unfair labor practices and its focus on overtime, RN time off and other takeaways during ongoing contract negotiations. The picket will follow the release of a community survey showing overwhelming support among local residents for nurse proposals to preserve and improve local, quality services at Noble. Nurses and State Senator John Velis also held a virtual community forum featuring testimony about the need to preserve and improve local, high-quality services from nurses, community leaders, emergency response personnel, mental health advocates, patients, and family members.

Additional information on Baystate Noble nurses' fight for the future of their community hospital: www.massnurses.org/NobleInfo.

Unfair Labor Practice Charges

Noble nurses filed unfair labor practice charges on October 7 with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) after Baystate Health refused for failure to provide information necessary for bargaining. More about the charges: https://www.massnurses.org/news-and-events/p/openItem/11839

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 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

Related Links

www.massnurses.org