Union nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, Massachusetts, went on strike last week for the second time in less than a year. They're back at work now, and say they want to resume negotiations.
The nurses had a 24-hour strike, followed by a two-day lockout. They say they want the hospital to increase staffing levels.
That demand is about patient safety, said Joe Markman, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the union representing the nurses.
“Nurses are being scheduled eight- or 12-hour shifts, but then they’re working 13, 14, 15, 16 or more hours," Markman said. "They’ve worked thousands of these extra-long shifts in the past year, and these shifts are against nursing best practices.”
The same nurses held a similar strike last June.
Markman said the group is willing to bargain with the hospital with no conditions.
Baystate Health spokeswoman Molly MacMunn said in an email that there are no negotiating sessions currently on the calendar.
