The Massachusetts Nurses Association has asked a federal mediator to assist in contract negotiations between Quincy (Mass.) Medical Center and its nursing staff, after the two parties failed to reach a new contract agreement at the end of February, according to a Patriot Ledger report.
Both sides said they expect negotiations to resume when the mediator starts working with the hospital and union sometime next month. One of the biggest conflicts has arisen over nurse-patient staffing ratios at the hospital. The nurses' union says hospital management is forcing nurses to give up their right to file grievances to enforce staffing guidelines that have already been detailed in a previous contract.
The two sides reached an agreement for the nurses' last contract in September. The contract expired on Feb. 28.
Read the Patriot Ledger report on Quincy Medical Center's contract negotiations.
Read more on nursing contracts:
-Nurses at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center to Strike on Wednesday
-Nurses at D.C.'s Washington Hospital Center to Strike March 4
-Nursing Union Slams Stanford Hospital's New Contract Terms
Both sides said they expect negotiations to resume when the mediator starts working with the hospital and union sometime next month. One of the biggest conflicts has arisen over nurse-patient staffing ratios at the hospital. The nurses' union says hospital management is forcing nurses to give up their right to file grievances to enforce staffing guidelines that have already been detailed in a previous contract.
The two sides reached an agreement for the nurses' last contract in September. The contract expired on Feb. 28.
Read the Patriot Ledger report on Quincy Medical Center's contract negotiations.
Read more on nursing contracts:
-Nurses at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center to Strike on Wednesday
-Nurses at D.C.'s Washington Hospital Center to Strike March 4
-Nursing Union Slams Stanford Hospital's New Contract Terms