MNA Strikes, Picketing and Rallies

Strikes and Picketing by Nurses Represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association

The Massachusetts Nurses Association has become more militant in its dealings with hospitals.  Between January 1, 2011 and April 30, 2013, the MNA authorized strikes at six hospitals.  Before that, you probably remember the lengthy strikes at Brockton Hospital and St. Vincent’s Hospital.  The Brockton Hospital strike lasted for 104 days.  If the MNA calls a strike, the hospital can permanently replace those nurses who are involved in an economic strike. 

Even a short strike has ramifications for nurses and their hospital.  Consider the impact of a one-day strike like the MNA had at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in October 2012.  The local media covered that strike extensively, reporting that nearly 600 people held signs and marched outside the hospital.  Can you imagine what it would be like if it happened here?  We could lose patients not just for that day, but forever, after they see a mob marching around our hospital with signs calling the staffing unsafe and criticizing the hospital's administration. 

In addition to strikes, the MNA frequently resorts to informational picketing and rallies when it cannot get a hospital to do what it wants.  During the two-year period from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012 alone, for example, the MNA picketed at 10 hospitals (picketing some more than once during that period).  This picketing often involves nurses shouting anti-hospital slogans through a bullhorn.

Recent Picketing and Rallies by Nurses Represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association