Nurses at Boston-based Tufts Medical Center paved the way for greater possibility of a strike Thursday by rejecting a "final" contract offer from the hospital, reports The Boston Globe.
Boston-based Tufts has been in negotiations with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents approximately 1,200 hospital nurses, for more than a year.
Members of the MNA rejected what hospital officials said was their final offer this week after the union called on nurses to vote down the deal, according to the report. The MNA did not disclose an exact vote tally to The Boston Globe, except to say the feedback was "overwhelming."
"I'm really proud of our nurses for standing up together," Mary Cornacchia, co-chairwoman of the bargaining unit, told the publication. "This vote does send a very clear message to the hospital administration that they need to revisit their last, best, and final offer."
Tufts CEO Michael Wagner, MD, has told various news outlets the hospital budgeted $30 million for a new four-year labor deal for nurses.
The hospital is offering a 10.5 percent raise over the contract term to nurses at the high end of the pay scale, which includes more than 60 percent of all nurses, according to the report. All other nurses, the report states, would receive a 5.5 percent raise during that period, in addition to annual step raises.
The hospital also wants to move approximately 340 nurses who get a pension into a defined contribution plan known as a 403b, according to The Boston Globe.
However, the union said workers want "competitive compensation" and contends some nurses would have to sacrifice pay to maintain their benefits if they moved to the contribution retirement plan, according to the report.
In an emailed statement to Becker's, Tufts spokesperson Rhonda Mann said the hospital is not surprised nurses rejected their final contract offer, as "this was an MNA-controlled event with a clear objective."
"We will continue to focus on communicating with all 1,200 Tufts Medical Center nurses about the $30 million offer the Medical Center put on the table to address the issues nurses told us were important to them," Ms. Mann said. "Our offer to provide wage increases of 5.5 to 10.5 percent over four years, as well as improved benefits and staffing, and reflects the deep respect we have for our professional and compassionate nurses. While we have no room left for movement on the financial components of our offer, we look forward to listening and continuing to work toward an agreement at our next bargaining session on June 12."
The MNA must provide a 10-day strike notice before a walkout could occur. The potential strike would last one day, however hospital officials said participating nurses would be disallowed from work for a total of five days, as Tufts is required to pay replacement nurses for a minimum of five days, according to the report. The report states the hospital expects it would spend $6 million to hire temporary replacement workers in the event of a strike.