Registered nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center and Houlton Regional Hospital have authorized a strike if leadership does not address safe staffing and other issues during contract negotiations.
NMMC nurses voted to join the Maine State Nurses Association, an affiliate of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, in January of 2024 and still do not have a contract.
Registered nurse Bradley Martinez said he hopes leadership takes their vote to strike seriously, bargains in good faith, and makes real progress when they next meet on September 8.
"We're hopeful that our administration will begin a better dialogue with us. We've already had the overwhelming vote to proceed with a strike if we need to and we're willing and ready to use that if we feel that we're not being respected at the table," Martinez said.
Martinez said if meaningful progress is made next week they will continue negotiating and won't need to call a strike.
An informational picket by NMMC nurses last fall led to more frequent bargaining talks with leadership.
In April RNs at Houlton Regional Hospital spoke out against the closure of the hospital's labor and delivery unit.
Registered nurse Beth Cook said ER nurses are now delivering babies, and they need more staff to properly care for patients.
"Once again they're minimizing the need but ask any patient who's been there recently, and they'll tell you they've had a 3 to 5 hour wait and sometimes they're still being treated in the hallway," Cook said.
Cook said nurses feel their concerns are being minimized and they are frustrated with the lack of progress in bargaining for a new contract.
The contract for Houlton nurses, also part of the Maine State Nurses Association, expired last year. They'll be back at the bargaining table Friday.
In statements released late Thursday, Jeff Zewe, CEO for both Northern Maine Medical Center and Houlton Regional Hospital, said the unions' votes to strike is concerning.
To ensure safe staffing at Houlton Regional Hospital, Zewe says daily leadership huddles will begin to address staffing concerns. Those huddles already occur at Northern Maine Medical Center.
The statement said recruitment and retention at Northern Maine Medical Center has improved over the past year with the recruitment of 21 RNs, eliminating reliance on travel nurses.
