BUTTE — Nurses at Intermountain Healthcare St. James Hospital in Butte have been negotiating their contracts for seven months and are back at the bargaining table this week.
Watch here Butte nurses return to bargaining table:
For months, little green and blue signs pledging support for local nurses have been popping up at businesses and homes across the Mining City. Emily Peterson, of the Montana Nurses Association, says she and the roughly 143 Butte nurses she represents are grateful for the ongoing community support after a recent contract was voted down.
Peterson says the contract that was voted down would have made Butte nurses some of the lowest paid in the state. Because the Butte hospital is a regional hub, she says wages, hours, and working conditions should be competitive with area health centers.
The Local #5 registered nurse bargaining team at Intermountain Healthcare St. James Hospital says they want new contracts to address priorities like retaining experienced nurses while also recruiting new registered nurses.
Currently, the Butte hospital has a handful of nurses who have over 30 years of experience. Peterson says retention of experienced nurses and recruitment of new registered nurses who want to live and work in Butte benefits patients and the community.
"Keeping nurses working at St. James benefits the entire Butte community. When experienced local nurses stay, patients benefit from continuity of care, families benefit from having trusted healthcare professionals close to home, and St. James benefits from a stronger, more experienced nursing workforce," the Montana Nurses Association said.
According to its website, St. James Hospital's history reaches back 145 years, when a group of Catholic nuns arrived in Butte to care for miners in 1881. The hospital was under SCL Health until it merged with Intermountain Healthcare in 2022. Intermountain Health is based in Utah with hospitals in seven states, including Montana.
Hospital leadership says they are returning to the bargaining table for the 30th time with the goal of reaching an agreement that supports caregivers and the long-term needs of patients, the community, and the hospital.
"St. James Hospital remains committed to the collective bargaining process and to working constructively with the Montana Nurses Association toward a new agreement. We value our nurses and the important work they do every day for our patients and community. MNA and St. James have recently returned to the bargaining table. The hospital's goal remains to reach an agreement that supports our caregivers while also meeting the long-term needs of our patients, our community, and our hospital," Intermountain Health St. James Hospital leadership said.
Contract negotiations are expected to last two days.
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