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Visiting Nurses' Union Picket for More Pay, More Care Time

Former Visiting Nurse employee Sarah Roberts says the work is stressful and there are fewer people to do home care. That led her to go back to the hospital to work. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Unionized members of the Berkshire Visiting Nurses Association chanted "BHS you can't hide, we can see your greedy side" outside of Berkshire Medical Center during a picket for a fair contract on Monday.

Berkshire United, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, is negotiating its first contract with Berkshire Health Systems and union members say they are pushing for fair pay and productivity standards. Members see this as crucial to preserve staff and quality of care.

"As workload expectations have increased dramatically, pay has not. Our nurses make $5 to $10 less an hour than the state average for home-care nurses. They can make $9 to $15 more an hour and have a wage step scale by going over to the hospital working for the same employer," said union co-Chair Tamaryn Clowdus.

"Berkshire VNA has gone from a department that seldom had a staff vacancy to a department that is fighting to hire and retain staff. They have lost 34 permanent staff over the past two years, 11 since August of this year. We have lost four physical therapists and haven't been able to hire any replacements for two years. Our agency used to manage caseloads of 600 patients and now we struggle to manage caseloads of 300."

BVNA registered nurses, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists unionized two years ago and have two main asks for the contract:

• A wage step scale of the kind that MNA-represented nurses, health professionals, and other union members have in contracts throughout the commonwealth, including at BMC.
   
• Productivity language that reflects the reality of home care today and allows BVNA clinicians to spend an appropriate amount of time providing patient care and support and documenting.

Supporters joined the picket on North Street with holiday-themed signs — including the Grinch himself with a sign that read "BHS don't be a Grinch."

Director of Media Relations Michael Leary said BHS deeply values its skilled and compassionate home care clinicians who are integral to the mission of advancing the health and wellness of everyone in Berkshire County.

"We respect our employees' rights to organize, along with their rights to free speech and assembly. As always, we are committed to working with both our Berkshire VNA clinicians and the Massachusetts Nurses Association in good faith," he wrote.

"We have been holding productive, respectful negotiations with the MNA for more than a year and have proposed wages that are competitive within the home-care industry and productivity expectations that are consistent with home-care industry standards. We remain committed to negotiating in good faith, and we are confident that we will reach a fair and equitable agreement."

Former BVNA employee Sarah Roberts decided to go back to the hospital after more than two years of what she described as long stressful days with ambitious quotas to meet, lots of traveling, and insufficient pay.

"We are here tonight to stand together, to fight together, to win. Not just for our members, but most importantly for our patients, their families, and our community, who deserve a fully staffed VNA that can provide the best and most comprehensive patient care."
 

Pittsfield Remembers Lives Lost to Overdose, Underscores Harm Reduction

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33AM / Tuesday, September 01, 2026

Mayor Peter Marchetti reads a proclamation at City Hall encouraging residents to raise awareness and lift each other up. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Dozens of people gathered downtown on Monday to remember those lost to overdose and work toward a future of zero deaths from substance use disorder. 

The Berkshire Overdose and Addiction Prevention Collaborative and its partners held a proclamation reading and flag-raising at City Hall, followed by a standout in Park Square with signs promoting the use of naloxone, harm reduction, and reducing associated stigma. 

There were 23 fatal overdoses in Berkshire County in 2025, 11 in Pittsfield. This is down 44 percent from the 41 countywide fatalities in 2024. 

While it is a significant decrease, advocates want to see that number at zero. 

"On the one hand, we're very pleased to see this significant of a decrease. This is actually the lowest number that we've had since [Department of Public Health] started collecting these numbers in 2013, but the goal is still zero," said Andy Ottoson, public health planner with the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. 

August is International Overdose Awareness Month, the world's largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember those lost without stigma, and acknowledge the grief of families and friends left behind. September is National Recovery Month, a national observance to educate the public on the importance of substance use treatment and mental health services.

Samantha Kendall of Berkshire Harm Reduction explained that it is truly meeting people where they are, as they are, and when they are, "and I think we all do a really great job at that."

"We also want to remember that we're building a community for everybody, and systems and policies for everybody. That's really important in harm reduction work, so that's also the reason we're here today," she said.