At the end of a long and bitter contract negotiation for unionized nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester last year, there was one last sticking point: Nurses wanted their old jobs back.
When they finally secured a promise to return to the positions and hours they previously worked, they ended their nine-month strike and went back to work.
But now, the Massachusetts Nurses Association says, the hospital is changing schedules and forcing nurses to work longer shifts. Most Saint Vincent nurses had worked eight-hour shifts; now they must work 12 hours.
