Saturday, July 7, 2018
No deal was reached during Friday night negotiations between the University of Vermont Medical Center and its nurses, and less than a week remains until nurses plan to strike. On Saturday, the union and hospital both released statements announcing that bargaining will continue Monday and Tuesday afternoons without a federal mediator.
Tags: UVM Medical Center , nurses , strike , University of Vermont Medical Center , Image , Web Only
Friday, July 6, 2018
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticized administrators of the University of Vermont Medical Center and called on them to meet face-to-face with hospital nurses during a press conference at his Burlington office on Friday.
More than 1,000 nurses are prepared to strike on July 12 and 13 amid contentious contract negotiations. Nurses are calling for salary parity with the nurses at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y., which is a member of the UVM Health Network. The union says the hospital is dangerously understaffed because low salaries create long-term vacancies and high turnover rates.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , UVMMC , strike , nurses , University of Vermont Medical Center , Image , Web Only
Thursday, July 5, 2018
With a week left until a nursing strike, the University of Vermont Medical Center has scheduled a bargaining session on Friday with its nurses' union. The time, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., was chosen after discussions involving both sides, according to Hospital spokesman Michael Carrese.
He sent out a press release Thursday announcing the session and stating the hospital administration’s hope that a strike might still be averted. The hospital has maintained that it will be prepared to provide quality care to patients in the event of a strike.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) waded into the fray Thursday, releasing a statement in support of nurses and announcing a joint press conference with the nurses' union on Friday afternoon.
“Nurses are the backbone of the UVM Medical Center," Sanders' written statement said. "They work day and night to treat our family members and to keep our community healthy. Patient care suffers when these dedicated professionals are not treated with respect and do not receive adequate compensation.”
The nurse’s bargaining team voted on Saturday to serve a strike notice Monday. Nurses are required by law to give hospitals 10 days advance notice of their intent to strike. If no agreement is reached, the nurses will strike on July 12 and 13.
Tags: UVM Medical Center , nurses , strike , University of Vermont Medical Center , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Hotel Vermont general manager Joseph Carton said Tuesday morning that an agency tried to reserve 600 rooms in Burlington. Hotel Vermont, which has 125 rooms, could not accommodate the entire request. But the agency ultimately reserved 32 rooms between Hotel Vermont and the Courtyard Burlington Harbor next door, which is owned by the same company, Carton said.
Tags: University of Vermont Medical Center , strike , nurse , Hotel Vermont , Courtyard Burlington Harbor , Laurie Aunchman , Image , Web Only
Monday, July 2, 2018
Members of the union’s bargaining team voted unanimously on Saturday morning to serve the notice. As word got around, the hospital scheduled another bargaining session on Sunday, but the two sides were unable to find common ground. The nurses' three-year contract expires on July 9.
Earlier in June, members of the nurses' union voted overwhelmingly to authorize their bargaining team to serve a strike notice. If those nurses leave work, it could mean trouble for Vermont's only trauma center with a Level 1 designation, meaning it provides the most comprehensive care. The hospital's administration maintains it will keep the place running smoothly in the event of a strike, but the nurses express skepticism.
Tags: UVM , nurses , union , strike , University of Vermont Medical Center , Image , Web Only
Saturday, June 30, 2018
University of Vermont Medical Center nurses plan to serve the hospital on Monday morning with a 10-day notice of a two-day labor strike.
Keith Brunner, a spokesperson for the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, on Saturday announced a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Monday to reveal a “critical development” in contract negotiations. Prior to the press release, a UVM Medical Center nurse informed Seven Days that a strike notice will be served Monday. Brunner confirmed that Monday’s press conference is to announce that notice.
Tags: University of Vermont Medical Center , strike , nurses , Image , Web Only
Friday, June 29, 2018
On June 13, the union announced that 1,227 of its 1,800 members voted to give the union's bargaining team the authority to issue a notice to the hospital of a potential two-day strike if a new contract isn't agreed to before the current one expires July 9. The nurses are required by law to give the hospital 10 days' notice before walking off the job.
If the nurses were to strike, it could mean a labor shortage at the only level one trauma center in the region. Nurses have asserted that they are the backbone of the hospital, while UVM Medical Center officials have repeatedly said it's prepared to continue providing quality care to patients in the event of a strike. The hospital has made arrangements with an outside firm that would provide temporary workers.
When the strike votes were first tallied, union leaders suggested they would serve a strike notice Friday if their demands had not been met. But for now, they plan to continue negotiating in good faith.
Tags: University of Vermont Medical Center , nurses , strike , union , labor , hospital , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
The high court determined in a 5-4 vote that nonmembers of public-sector unions do not have to pay dues for collective bargaining.
When unions negotiate with employers, the contracts they fight for benefit all employees, regardless of union status. Nonunion members have been required to pay "fair-share" fees in 22 states, including Vermont, to cover the costs associated with collective bargaining.
The court majority ruled that requiring such fees violates First Amendment rights, since unions engage in political activism. That means workers can opt out of union fees but still receive the benefits of bargaining.
Union supporters, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have decried the ruling as an attack on working people’s power.
Vermont labor leaders said they were not surprised by the decision and remain optimistic that workers will choose to support their unions.
Tags: Vermont unions , Darren Allen , James Haslam , Rights & Democracy , Bernie Sanders , senator , union , labor , SCOTUS , Steve Howard , Vermont State Employees' Association , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
An overwhelming majority of the University of Vermont Medical Center’s nurses voted to authorize their union's bargaining committee to call for a two-day strike if its demands are not met when the nurses' contract runs out July 9.
Dozens of nurses gathered outside the hospital at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday for the vote result announcement. They cheered and clapped as union leaders came out of the hospital’s McClure Entrance and crossed the street to a picnic area in front of the building. Julie MacMillan, the union’s lead negotiator, announced the vote tally: 1,311 of the 1,800 union members voted, and 1,227 — 94 percent — said yes to a strike.
As the end of the nurses’ three-year contract comes comes ever closer, union negotiators have been playing hardball at the bargaining table. They have refused to meet with a national negotiator and have held press conferences and public demonstrations about what they say are public safety issues stemming from understaffing at the hospital.
The nurses claim low pay and high costs of living are preventing the hospital from retaining the number of nurses it needs to adequately care for patients. Eileen Whalen, hospital president and chief operating officer, estimated that the nurses’ average pay is $64,000 — less than the national average of $73,550 in 2017, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.
Tags: Burlington , nurses , labor , union , Julie MacMillan , Deb Snell , Eileen Whalen , University of Vermont Medical Center , Image , Web Only
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Nurses will vote on June 10, 11 and 12 about whether to initiate a two-day strike once the current three-year union contract ends on July 9. If a majority of members want to walk out, the union would serve the hospital a 10-day strike notice on June 29.
MacMillan said the 1,800-member union is working to nail down more bargaining dates with the hospital in the hopes of reaching a resolution before a strike. Wednesday's vote gives the bargaining committee further proof its membership is serious about its demands, she said.
Tags: nurses , union , strike , UVM Medical Center , Julie MacMillan , University of Vermont Medical Center , Image , Web Only