Nurses at Boston-based Tufts Medical Center picketed Thursday night as a contract agreement with management remains unreached.
Approximately 350 nurses participated in the picket outside the hospital, as did a number of elected officials and labor leaders, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents 1,200 Tufts nurses. However, the hospital reported there were approximately 125 people at the picket, including nurses and others not affiliated with Tufts.
The union said the goal of the picket was "to draw the public's attention back to the nurses' continued fight for a fair contract, as well as to put pressure on management to reach a fair settlement as soon as possible."
Thursday's action marks the first picket since Tufts nurses went on strike in July.
More than 10 negotiating sessions have taken place since the strike. However, both sides have been unable to fully resolve key sticking points such as staffing, pay and pension benefits — which were among issues leading to the strike, union officials said via news release.
Tufts and the union argue they have made efforts to reach an agreement.
The union claims it has made "significant compromises" regarding nurses' pension benefits, while Tufts told Becker's Hospital Review via email it has "gone to great lengths to engage the MNA in meaningful contract discussions and ... made significant movement in our proposals to address the concerns of our nurses and the long-term health of the medical center."
Tufts added, "We are dismayed that the union has chosen to direct its time and energy towards another disruptive picket rather than on good faith bargaining at the table. Unfortunately, we cannot give the union everything it wants and remain financially healthy and viable for the community we serve. We continue to be hopeful that an agreement can be reached."
The MNA and Tufts have been in negotiations since April 2016.