Daughtry, Jackson, Platner & Other Candidates Join NMMC Nurses in Fort Kent Calling for Fair Contract

PHOTO: NMMC nurses in Fort Kent last Saturday.

Registered nurses in Fort Kent were out at the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races last weekend talking to members of the community about their fight for a fair contract with Northern Maine Medical Center. It has been over two years since they first formed their union and began bargaining in good faith for a first contract. Nurses remain committed to the patients they serve, and to making their hospital the best place it can be for everyone. Unfortunately, NMMC is betraying the community by not coming to a fair agreement with the nurses. Hospital management has engaged in shameful anti-union retaliation against the nurses.

On Saturday, Senate President Mattie Daughtry, gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, senatorial candidate Graham Platner, CD 2 candidates Matt Dunlap and Jordan Wood, gubernatorial candidate Rick Bennett and members United Steelworkers Local 291 and 365 from the Twin Rivers mill in Madawaska joined NMMC nurses to call on the hospital to finally settle a fair contract.

“Health care workers are the backbone of our communities, especially in rural Maine,” said President Daughtry. “After more than a year of negotiations, these nurses do not deserve delays, retaliation or uncertainty. They deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect they show our communities when they care for Mainers every single day. They deserve respect at the bargaining table, safe working conditions, and a fair contract that reflects the critical care they provide.”

The Nurses also released a letter to their community thanking them for their support and reiterating their goals as a union, which include providing the best care possible for their patients and winning safe staffing. The letter says in part:

“Over the past two years, you have no doubt heard about the conflict that has grown between the hospital and us. We want you to know that we never asked for this fight. The initiative to organize our union was to protect ourselves and our patients, not to punish any individuals or the hospital as a whole.”

The nurses’ letter went on to say that their immediate goals as a union include: winning safe staffing for nurses and patients, promoting transparency and accountability at NMMC, retaining our local providers and staff, and making their hospital sustainable for the long term.

Terry Caron, RN and member of the nurses’ bargaining team said: “Two years ago, we decided to have a voice for ourselves and our patients by forming our union. The NMMC administration could have met us halfway, but it did not. It has only fought us and tried to punish us for speaking up. But we are as committed to our goals as ever. We will never stop fighting for our patients.”