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MASSACHUSETTS R egistered nurses at Newton- Wellesley Hospital and North Shore Medical Center, both Boston-area facilities affiliated with Partners HealthCare, ratified new contracts this spring after hard-fought campaigns that included an overwhelming strike vote by Newton-Wellesley nurses and coordinated pickets in March to share concerns with the public about a healthcare company that refuses to respect the nurses who provide 90 percent of patient care at its hospitals. The RNs are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association. "We are pleased to have reached an agree- ment after seven months of challenging negotiations," said Laurie Andersen, co-chair of the Newton-Wellesley RN bargaining committee and an emergency department nurse at the hospital, located in Newton. "This deal averts a strike and includes important improvements to patient care, including the addition of a nurse 'Stat Team' that will assist nurses throughout the hospi- tal as they encounter short staffing and other obstacles while caring for their patients." Andersen said, however, that the 974 nurses of Newton-Wellesley are still trou- bled by Partners' approach to treating patients and nurses, "especially considering the corporation's vast financial resources, and [nurses] will continue to advocate every day for the ability to provide the best possi- ble care." The two-and-half-year contract expires March 31, 2018 and will have a backdated start date of Oct. 1, 2015. In addition to the Stat Teams, nurses gained important restric- tions on patient assignments for charge nurses; more favorable definitions of what constitutes a full-time RN for health insur- ance purposes; and a 2 percent across-the- board wage increase. At North Shore Medical Center in Salem, nurses "are pleased to have reached an agreement that benefits both patients and nurses," said Kelli O'Brien, a registered nurse in the birthplace unit at NSMC and co-chair of the MNA/NNU Local Bargain- ing Unit. "During seven months of challeng- ing negotiations, nurses successfully advocated for contract proposals that will improve patient care and better the working conditions and wages of every nurse at North Shore Medical Center." The two-year contract covers 600 nurs- es and will have a start date of Oct. 1, 2015 and expire Sept. 30, 2017. Negotiations began in September 2015. The nurses gained important restrictions against float- ing; limits on patient assignments given to charge nurses; and a 1 percent wage increase and a new top step for the most experienced nurses. Both hospitals have been affiliated with Partners for many years. The Partners system is the most profitable healthcare employer in the state, posting profits in 2014 alone of more than $120 million, with revenues in excess of $10.9 billion, accord- ing to state tax filings. From 2010 to 2014, Partners made more than $1.9 billion in profit. RNs say a nonprofit organization like Partners should be investing this fortune in healthcare for the communities it serves and in the employees who provide that care. Instead, Partners uses its enormous profits to enrich its top executives. The five highest- paid Partners executives got a nearly $1.3 million combined pay hike from 2013 to 2014, equaling a 23 percent increase in salaries. —Joe Markman M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 1 6 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 Newton-Wellesley and North Shore RNs ratify new contracts