Business & Tech

L+M Health Care Workers Are Back On The Job

The issues that led to the strike and the lockout, however, still haven't been resolved. Further contract negotiations are needed to reach an agreement between Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and the AFT healthcare workers union.

Nurses and health care technicians are back on the job today at Lawrence & Memorial (L&M) Hospital after 19 days of being locked out following a four-day strike.  

Lawrence & Memorial Corporation (LMC) representatives on Tuesday unilaterally ordered an end to the lockout, even though talks with the AFT union that represents nearly 800 RNs, LRNs, and healthcare technicians failed to produce an agreement. 

Both L+M management and the union have filed a variety of legal claims against each other relating to the labor action. The union believes that the lockout was illegal.  

"No one can dispute that ending this illegal lockout is a win for our community," said L&M Hospital registered nurse (RN) Lisa D'Abrosca, who serves as president of AFT Local 5049 and represents the hospital's approximately 540 RNs. "We're back to the bedside caring for our patients, and that was always our 'number one' priority. And we've moved the administration to protect vital health services for now. But we're still committed to resolve our community's long-term crisis of care." 

The key issue that neither side seems to be able to come to terms with in negotiations is L+M's decision to move patient care services away from the community hospital. The union wants assurances that if services are relocated, its members will be allowed to move with them and keep their jobs. The matter remains a subject of collective bargaining negotiations. 

Union leaders and LMC representatives exchanged numerous proposals to address the issue during efforts that began in September to achieve successor agreements for contracts that expired November 16. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has also taken up the dispute and sworn testimony is scheduled to be heard next month in an ongoing trial over the matter.  

"We've never given up on preserving access to quality patient care," said L&M Hospital sleep lab technician Stephanie Johnson, president of AFT Local 5051, representing approximately 250 licensed practical nurses (LPNs), healthcare technicians and technologists at the hospital. "We always said that coming together with management—especially when we're talking about our patients—was possible and preferable. Now that we're back to work, we hope the administration gets back on track and is willing to work with us."  

The union expects that LMC will agree to continue talks aimed at a settlement of the dispute over transferring health services. 

"Hospital leadership has shown that they were actually listening to the community," said Melodie Peters, an LPN who worked at L&M Hospital for 15 years and serves as president of AFT Connecticut. "Pulling the plug on an illegal lockout demonstrates that the message the people of this region were delivering was received, loud and clear."  

Elected officials at all levels, from New London Mayor Daryl Finizio to Governor Dannel Malloy, expressed support for the union and its members throughout the strike and the lockout that followed. Community members also rallied to show their support, standing on picket line with hospital workers. 

More than $65,000.00 in donations have been made to a "hardship fund" that AFT Connecticut and its national union set up last week to provide relief for the caregivers. Nearly 1,000 gifts were donated for a holiday gift delivery the federation and the United Labor Agency on Tuesday coordinated for caregivers' children. 

A new ad in the "I Am L+M" public awareness effort was today placed in The Day thanking the community for their ongoing support throughout this crisis.


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