MGB Home Care clinicians plan to use their
collective strength as union members to secure professional respect
and ensure safe patient care conditions
BOSTON, July 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Mass General Brigham (MGB) Home Care nurses and
healthcare professionals have exercised their right to unionize,
joining the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) with a
successful election on Friday, June
28. Their overwhelmingly yes vote enables MGB Home Care
nurses and healthcare professionals to work together to improve
patient care conditions and advocate for the professional respect
they deserve.
"I'm really excited to move forward and begin the process of
formally building this union, as well as bargaining with our
employer to get a contract in place that allows us to provide the
best care we can for our patients while respecting our personal and
professional needs," said Karen
Estey, a speech language pathologist at MGB Home Care.
"This election result is a great step forward for us and I'm really
proud to be part of this process."
"I feel really good about the large percentage of clinicians
having voted in favor of the union. There is always power in
numbers!" said Regula Kissling, a
physical therapist at MGB Home Care. "The union will give us a
strong voice and allows us to much more easily and effectively
collaborate with management on issues important to us. I know this
will ultimately enhance efficiency at work, patient satisfaction,
staff retention, and work-life balance."
"Winning this election with such strong support is an indication
that we are long overdue for representation with management,"
said Shannon Viera, Clinical
Coach North Teams with MGB Home Care. "Home care is often
overlooked and under-appreciated, but we know the future of
healthcare is moving into the home setting and home care clinicians
are going to be in higher demand than ever before. It is time for
us to work with MGB leadership to create an environment that is an
attractive workplace for clinicians, provides improved work-life
balance and superior patient experiences. MGB hospitals are
considered leaders in the country, and it is time for Home Care to
have the opportunity to set national trends instead of following
them."
"Winning this election is a pivotal moment for the clinicians of
MGB Home Care. We are now in a position to use our collective voice
to work with leadership to make decisions regarding improved
patient care, safety, and better working conditions for
clinicians," said Kara Wilson,
OTR at MGB Home Care. "Providing optimal care for our patients
requires front line clinicians to have a sustainable work-life
balance and this aspect of our work has been missing for far too
long."
In recent years, there has been unprecedented interest in nurses
and healthcare professionals seeking union representation as a
means of protecting their patients and themselves by having a
voice, the ability to advocate for better working conditions, and
compensation and benefits that allow for the recruitment and
retention of staff. Nurses and healthcare professionals are joining
together to counter oppressive management practices that have
created a shortage of professionals willing to work in an
increasingly corporate healthcare environment.
- Approximately 80 MGB Home Hospital nurses voted to join the MNA
in May 2024, the same day that a
group of Newton-Wellesley Hospital ambulatory care nurses won their
vote to join the MNA.
- Martha's Vineyard Hospital ambulatory care nurses are
completing a mail-in election with a vote count expected
July 2.
- 280 nurses at Framingham Union Hospital voted to join the MNA
in January 2024.
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Merrimack Valley nurses ratified
their first MNA contract in January
2024.
- 16 nurses at South Shore Endoscopy Center (MGB) ratified their
first contract in December 2023.
- Berkshire VNA nurses and healthcare professionals ratified
their first MNA contract in December
2023.
- Milford Regional Medical Center nurses ratified their first MNA
contract in November 2022.
- St. Luke's Hospital nurses ratified their first MNA contract in
February 2022.
There are 436 MGB Home Care nurses and healthcare professionals
joining the MNA following the election. They provide a wide range
of care, from nursing and occupational health to physical therapy
and speech language pathology. MGB Home Care clinicians provide
care for patients throughout Eastern
Massachusetts. They participated in a mail-in election
overseen by the National Labor Relations Board. The vote count by
NLRB officials on June 28 was 295 yes
to join the union to 79 no, with zero challenged ballots.
Following the NLRB election, nurses and healthcare professionals
will vote for their elected leaders and bargaining committee and
begin determining proposals for first contract negotiations. In a
letter requesting voluntary recognition of their union delivered to
MGB in May, the nurses and healthcare professionals included a
series of reasons for unionizing:
- We want to feel valued and respected as Home Care clinicians.
This includes being paid for all work, receiving better benefits,
and benefiting from transparent and real communication.
- The safety of our patients and staff is too often at risk. We
are seeking protections that safeguard patients and ensure staff
can safely perform our work.
- When we are exhausted and assigned work past our capacity,
patients and our entire organization suffer. We are seeking
work-life balance, especially considering that patient care does
not stop at hands-on care.
- We are experts in patient care and have insights that can help
elevate care quality and ensure proper continuity of care.
- When our workload is unfair or uneven, clinicians are
demoralized and are less likely to stay at Home Care. We are
seeking equity in this area, along with consistency across
teams.
- We have a right to dignity and for the Home Care administration
to respect diversity.
The MNA is the largest union and professional organization of
nurses and healthcare professionals in Massachusetts. It represents more than 25,000
members in healthcare facilities across the state, including nurses
at more than 70 percent of the Commonwealth's acute care hospitals.
The MNA is led by a board of directors that is directly elected by
its membership and consists of front-line nurses and other
healthcare professionals.
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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.
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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association