Unionized nurses to consider tentative contract with St. Elizabeth, Samaritan

St. Elizabeth Medical Center (SEMC) In Utica and Samaritan Medical Center (SMC) in Watertown operated with unionized nurses during the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Both hospitals reached tentative agreements with the union representing nurses at each facility, avoiding one-day strikes on Sept. 1 and nurse lockouts at each location.

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) announced the agreement with SEMC in a statement issued Aug. 27. It did the same following the agreement with SMC on Aug. 25.

Both NYSNA statements included similar language, noting that the tentative agreements required “federal mediation” and followed “hours of arduous negotiation.”

“The parties are pleased that they have jointly found creative solutions to address the staffing concerns raised by the nurses. This agreement is subject to ratification.

The strike and lockout notices have been withdrawn,” NYSNA said in the statements announcing both tentative agreements.

Nurses that NYSNA represents at both hospitals had planned a one-day strike on Sept. 1. Both SEMC and SMC had countered with a plan to lock the nurses out.

The Utica hospital had notified NYSNA of its plan to lock out the nurses and hire temporary replacements for coverage through Labor Day, the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) said in a news release issued Aug. 24.

MVHS is an affiliation of SEMC and Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare, both of Utica. The two organizations teamed up in March 2014.

SEMC has been negotiating with NYSNA for more than 14 months, MVHS said.

SMC had also planned to hire temporary replacement nurses for a period of 11 days beginning on Sept. 1, the organization announced Aug. 18.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com