PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Medical Center nurses picketed Wednesday over contract negotiations.
The nurses' union had not come to an agreement with the hospital over patient safety, employee safety, and staffing levels.
This is the union's first contract since nurses voted to unionize in April 2021. The nurses are part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee and the Maine State Nurses Association.
With negotiations going into their eighth month, organizers said they hope that going public with their frustrations will sway the hospital to agree to their terms
More than 100 people picketed outside the hospital Wednesday morning. They told NEWS CENTER Maine they planned to be at the hospital until about 9 a.m. and would then return around 7 p.m. for the evening shift change.
Organizers told NEWS CENTER Maine they plan to picket for one day, and they said more people showed up than expected.
RELATED: How Maine Medical Center nurses vote yes or no for a union, and what it means for the hospital
Maine Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Devin Carr, RN, issued the following statement Wednesday morning:
“Maine Medical Center nurses are among the best in the nation earning national recognition for safety and quality from numerous independent organizations including The Leapfrog Group, US News & World Report and the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program, which is the gold standard for nursing excellence. Nurses and the hospital share a commitment to ensuring that MMC continues to be an outstanding place to both give and receive care, and contract discussions with the labor union representing nurses at MMC have been respectful on all sides. MMC is committed to bargaining in good faith and working toward a contract that is fair to the nurses as quickly as reasonable. There have been 20 bargaining sessions to date and negotiations are progressing on the schedule agreed to by both parties. MMC would like to thank patients and families for their support of our nurses and all care team members.”
Last year, when the nurses voted to unionize, they cited growing concerns about inadequate staffing and mandatory scheduling, which they said required nurses to rotate between working days and nights. They expressed concerns about burnout and fatigue, lack of meal and break relief, and assignments to work in units for which they do not have clinical experience and proper orientation.