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The bargaining units (MNA/SEIU) have had a good relationship with NARH until this administration.
from: unsatisfied	on: 07-20-2010 12:20AM I Agree (21) - I Disagree (3)

The bargaining units have had a good relationship with the previous administration because Cronin gave them everything they wanted, without question. That's why you're in the financial morass you're in now. Times have changed and you don't seem to want to change with those times. At the end of the day, you don't seem to realize that your hospital is in dire financial straits and could very well shut its doors unless it finds an answer. If that happens, good luck finding any work. Nursing positions are no longer available all over, like they used to be. Ask anyone who just graduated from nursing school. There are NO jobs out there.
from: More unsatisfied	on: 07-20-2010 09:34AM I Agree (18) - I Disagree (23)

The only way that the result of the voting could end with 99% approving the power to strike is if one sole person voted against it. I find that hard to believe. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time that a union's leadership has told its members untruths. Editor: Or if one of the 106 members was not available to vote. It did raise a question, though, that I'll clear up today.
from: Does not add up	on: 07-20-2010 09:35AM I Agree (15) - I Disagree (11)

It said that 99% of the "voting members"...authorized the power to strike. Usually, not all members will vote anyway. So as an example here, the union is saying 89 out of 90 people (or whatever the actual number is that cast a ballot) voted to authorize the power to strike. Again, one lone sheep?
from: Does not add up	on: 07-20-2010 09:56AM I Agree (16) - I Disagree (6)

The annual mean salary of a RN is $88,000. This IS NOT about quality care for the community. This is about selfishly lining their own pockets. Quite to the contrary, a strike will seriously impede "the quality of care for the community, and possibly close NARH. As a community member, you surely don't have my support. I am sick of listening to the whole thing.
from: sick of the whole thing	on: 07-20-2010 10:50AM I Agree (28) - I Disagree (30)

where did that salary number come from? As one of the nurses, that is NOT a figure that I would agree with. Editor: That number has been floating around a lot of the local message boards but I have not seen any documentation.
from: Grammy	on: 07-20-2010 02:11PM I Agree (18) - I Disagree (11)

Wether it was a vote of 99% to strike or 75% to strike doesn't matter. The majority voted to strike. Let's remember that this isn't about just monies. It's about being able to force nurses to go home without pay or receive a call to not come in, without pay, by managements choice. It's about being forced to work overtime hours after you have already put in a 12 hour shift, if management says to. Would you want your superiors on your job, dictating to you everyday if your going to work or not. Would you want your superior telling you, you can't go home after a long 12 hour day? Have you ever had a long hard day at work, on your feet all day, having to manage upmost important medications and treatments, make life saving decisions and your burnt out and need to go home and get rest? But your superior says NO, you're to stay! The nurses in our hospitl work hard and are extremly efficient. To be able to make them work on demand or not to work at all on demand, is the work of a tyrant. Stand strong my nurses, I've had to use your services and you are the best and well deserve to be treated with a heck of alot more dignity and respect than what this hospitals administration is trying to force on you! If you strike, I will be at your picket line as much as I can in support of all of you.
from: Union sister	on: 07-21-2010 03:41AM I Agree (21) - I Disagree (7)

let them strike maybe we can get treated like human beings, if they're gone. Most of em' are moody and rude to begin with. HIre new nurses!!
from: joanne	on: 07-21-2010 10:17AM I Agree (6) - I Disagree (27)

Most of the nurses work 12 hour days and during that time are responsible for the life of a several human beings. For those people who disagree with there right to fight for fair work practices you should first put your self in that position. I can only imagine the intense pressure a nurse can feel in one single day. As for the pay! I guess nursed make between $20-$40 per hour. Not a lot of money when you think they make life and death decisions and by the way that could be you sometime. To put that in perspective the average cost for a plumber is between $20 and $40 per hour. Save my life, unclog a drain HMMMMM. If management can have the nurses come and go as they please how can they make money to support there family. Today my child eats because I work but maybe not tomorrow. Support Your Nurses.
from: Puzzled	on: 07-21-2010 12:50PM I Agree (26) - I Disagree (7)

Hey puzzled, the average nursing salary at NARH is $88,000 a year. That comes out to $42 an hour, not 20 to 40. Some make even more, a lot more, and yes, some make less. I don't think $42 an hour is chump change. It's a far better hourly rate than almost any other job in North Berkshire, by far. I don't say a nurse doesn't deserve to be well paid. They do. And they are. As for the hours worked, a lot of us work well over 40 hours a week. And please stop acting as if "the nurse" makes the life and death decisions. The doctor does. I respect the hell out of nurses, it's an honorable profession, and almost every nurse I know really does care about each and every patient. But I don't feel bad for them when it comes to salary and benefits. I'd hardly call 7 weeks paid vacation a year a hardship, and zero deductible health plans, which you have, are almost unheard of. You do a good job, I'm sure, but you also HAVE a good job. If the money keeps leaking out of NARH, you won't.
from: More than puzzled	on: 07-21-2010 01:57PM I Agree (10) - I Disagree (26)

According to Ecomomic Research Institute the average RN salary for North Adams is $35/hour. Not sure where your numbers are from. Why does everyone bitch because some people are more fortunate than they are. Most of the nurses went to school for at least 4 years to earn a degree. So you is probably does pay better than some jobs in North Adams that don't require a degree. All I'm saying is Support your Nurses.
from: Puzzled	on: 07-22-2010 04:58AM I Agree (20) - I Disagree (4)

In fact, Puzzled, the majority of RNs have associate's degrees, not bachelors or more. That would be a two year degree. And your citation of salary conveniently ignores overtime, which most nurses accrue quite happily, despite what we've read about the poor, downtrodden nurses who are all overworked. With OT, the average salary, not including benefits, is $88,000 at NARH. And that's fine. I don't care that they earn that, but during the worst economic crisis in almost 100 years, that's plenty to live on for the next few years, I think. I also love the constant opposing arguments the MNA makes. They want to send us home early! They want us to work too much OT! Which is it? I agree, by the way, that they shouldn't have the right to send someone home early if they are a full-time employee. That's wrong. But getting paid OT for any hours worked over 8 hours a day, whether working a full-time 40 hour work week or less, is equally wrong.
from: The Puzzler	on: 07-22-2010 03:55PM I Agree (5) - I Disagree (12)

Nurses go to school like any other profesional and deserve the good money they make...I hope it is 88K per year; that is a fair wage. No one questions what the managers are making...bet it's a lot more...Did everyone forget they are not asking for more money...from what I heard they are willing to keep the exact agreement they had...and sign for another 3 years with no changes.
from: No I'm not a nurse	on: 07-22-2010 04:34PM I Agree (19) - I Disagree (2)

If nurses make more because they work OT what does that mean. HMMMMM lets think. Could that mean there is more work to do then the hospital staffed for or expected. Maybe because regardless of the economic crisis, people still get sick or injured. I do believe that I did read somewhere that the union was not asking for more, just to keep their contract intact as it currently reads. Good point about the managers but let’s not make this about anyone but the patients, nurses and both of their families. After all that is who will suffer the most if the negotiations fail. Good luck to all!
from: Focused	on: 07-22-2010 07:31PM I Agree (16) - I Disagree (1)

If you read all of the articles concerning the nurses - you would have seen that they only have one economic proposal left on the table. That was in the letters to the editor written by a nurse. How many did they have to start with ? I think they have a lot of nerve asking for a raise at a time like this when the economy is so bad & the hospital is on the brink of closing & no other employees are getting raises & lost some benefits. Why do they think they are more deserving than the people they work side by side with ? Their support people work just as hard as they do and they don't get a raise . Don't worry about the nurses going on strike. They may have all voted for one, but they would never walk away from their hefty paychecks. It's a bluff & I hope the hospital managers are smart enough not to fall for it. They are too greedy to go out on strike. Editor: For clarification, SEIU accepted a step freeze but all its members receive a 1 percent increase in October.
from: nano	on: 07-22-2010 07:42PM I Agree (4) - I Disagree (13)

Alright it appears that the Board of Trustees has decided to publicize information that should be considered private about the nurses. I do understand that with negotiations ongoing they are trying to make the union look like they are being greedy. I previously stated that the managers of the hospital should not be involved in these posts. But if the Board has decided to make the nurses salary public knowledge should they not also publish what all employees make. Lets be realistic the nurses are not the only employees collecting a salary. So why not publish the salaries of all employees so that all of the facts are public knowledge. What have the CEO and managers sacrificed? I bet not the company car or house for the CEO, or how about the Administrative Assistant who walks his dog. If it is really all about the money shouldn’t everyone be affected? Don’t forget the nurses are most likely the main income in their families so cutting there hours would affect the entire family. Sending a nurse home early or telling them not to report to work if they are a fulltime employee is just flat wrong. How would having them on call 24/7 work? Most people have children and how do you make arrangements for them.
from: Focused	on: 07-24-2010 08:58AM I Agree (11) - I Disagree (1)

Oh dear Nano, it's not a bluff. The RN's strike will begin 30 days from July 19th--the day the RN's took a strike vote with 89 out of 90 voters voting a resounding YES to strike, unless the union and the hospital can come to an agreement by then. I don't know how this line of posts got to be about how much money RN's make ---- I think a 3 year contract without asking for raises is pretty generous and a long time without a raise. Is the administration going that long without a raise? Too bad we don't know. I guess if they were we'd have heard about it. Is the administration going to start being on call 24/7 and be sent home when they aren't needed and called back in when they are? Losing income and not receiving a raise for 3 years? How can a single parent juggle child care without a real schedule? I used to have to let my child care provider know a month in advance of my work days. How could anybody do that with these new proposals?
from: Oh No!	on: 07-24-2010 10:16PM I Agree (7) - I Disagree (3)

There is so much conversation about what the nurse's make at NARH it is mind boggling, especially due to the issue of strike is WORKING CONDITIONS THAT WOULD IMPACT PATIENT SAFETY AMD THE DAILY LIFE OF THE NURSE!!! It IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY. When one mentions "strike" the old mind-set goes to 'it's all about the money' well it isn't, think what you may. So much complaining about what they make... what about the lawyer to charges anywhere from $100 to $125 an hour?!! the plumber is more likely $75/hr yes clean out my clogs please but wait the Nurse who went to school, works nights, days holidays, weekends, mixed schedules and whatever can be thrown at them (and they love their jobs), take care of you and your loved ones every day aren't deserving of a good pay. PLUS what they are exposed to healthwise on a daily basis. Nursing these days is a highly technical job as well. So there was no need for the hospital ad to state the nurses' payscale (which by the way is misleading).It doesn't matter what the nurse makes it matters about the quality of life she lives just as the quality of care matters to you and yours.
from: MIND BOGGLED	on: 07-25-2010 03:30PM I Agree (14) - I Disagree (3)

Excuse me...If ain't about the money and it's all about the quality, then why do only 63% of the patients who have been at NARH would recommend the facility to family and friends compared to a state average of recommending hospitals of 73%???? Source: CMS Hospital Compare. Editor check out the web site for other interesting data. Sorry...MNA smoke and mirrors. it's about money and control...bottom line
from: What 's it all about....	on: 07-25-2010 07:26PM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (15)

I have come across information that will make you ill, very ill..stay posted
from: This is nuts.....	on: 07-26-2010 08:54PM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

This is nuts, Please tell us your story......
from: Storms a brewin'	on: 07-27-2010 08:10PM I Agree (2) - I Disagree (0)

Letter: Let's Celebrate Diversity in the Northern Berkshires

Letter to the Editor07:00PM / Friday, January 09, 2026

To the Editor:

With the Jan. 1 swearing in of our city of North Adams mayor and City Council, we have an opportunity to celebrate diversity. For the first time in North Adams history, we have a woman for mayor, a woman majority council, and a council which is at least one-third LGBTQIA-plus. I believe this is something which should be celebrated, openly.

Despite a worrying national conversation which advocates that diversity equates weakness, the opposite is true, and has been proven time and time again. McKinsey & Co., a global consulting firm, has conducted a series of studies, which have made a strong business case for diversity, showing it is a competitive advantage for organizations, linked to innovation, financial success, and social benefits. It is indicated that it's especially beneficial to have diverse leadership teams.

I think North Adams is well-positioned to leverage fresh ideas and innovate. Our diversity will help set us up for a more successful future.

Like many of you, I have noticed negative reactions to the news of the diversification of our city's leadership in social media posts, and in overtly homophobic and transphobic comments. I wish for the Northern Berkshires to maintain a culture which is respectful, accepting and uplifting of people of all backgrounds, and I suspect the majority of our residents share this goal.

If you are reading this and feel similarly to me, please join me in helping to uplift people, and celebrate diversity. Let's share success stories, hopes for the future, and accept people of different backgrounds.

Andrew J Fitch
North Adams, Mass.

Andrew Fitch is vice president of the North Adams City Council.

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