Judge overseeing Steward case won’t wade into fight between Lawrence General, union

Judge Christopher Lopez didn’t tell the lawyer representing the Massachusetts Nurses Association to “take a hike” on Wednesday, but he came pretty close.

Lopez, the bankruptcy judge overseeing the Steward Healthcare bankruptcy case, refused to intervene on behalf of the Nurses Association after holding a hearing Wednesday over whether Lawrence General Hospital must abide by the collective bargaining agreement the union struck with now-bankrupt Steward before it sold off its Bay State Properties.

The United States District & Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas may have jurisdiction over Dallas-based Steward as it navigates Chapter 11 proceedings, Lopez declared, but while Lawrence General may be the proud new owners of a brace of former Steward facilities, that company has not declared bankruptcy, nor has the Nurses Association.

“Why can’t we just go to state court, or any court? What jurisdiction do I have between a fight between two non-debtors?” the bankruptcy judge asked.

Lopez has jurisdiction, attorney Sam Alberts said on behalf of MNA, because this matter falls under the sale order that allowed Lawrence to purchase Holy Family Haverhill and Holy Family Methuen from Steward after they went bankrupt, which Lopez approved.

“What under the sale order?” Lopez demanded. “I’m authorizing ‘a’ to sell to ‘b’ — that’s all I’m doing under the sale order.”

When Lawrence General bought the hospitals, Alberts said, they agreed they were “not allowed to modify” the collective bargaining agreements between the union and Steward all on their own, which they are trying to do by forcing union nurses onto the company’s health insurance rolls. Buying the hospitals meant taking the union contracts and the terms that come with them, Albert said.

That doesn’t mean the bankruptcy court is the right place to complain when a contract negotiation goes sideways, Lopez said.

“That’s not property of the (Steward) estate anymore,” Lopez said. “You have rights. If somebody post-petition breaches it, then you go to whatever court you can.”

Going to another court, Albert said, such as the National Labor Relations Board, wouldn’t deliver a remedy “anytime soon.”

“It could take more than a year, and in the meantime, you have significant changes to healthcare which are impacting these nurses,” Albert said.

“I don’t think I have jurisdiction to rule on that,” Lopez replied, before deblining to wade into the disagreement.

A spokesperson for Lawrence General said the judge is right.

“Lawrence General Hospital along with LG Newcorp (d/b/a Holy Family Hospital) agrees with the bankruptcy court’s decision that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the MNA’s recently filed motion. The hospitals have been and remain eager to find a resolution to our contract interpretation disagreement with the MNA. Ideally, a resolution would be consistent with the agreements that have already been entered into in good faith with the SEIU and ATC. We remain hopeful,” they said.

According to the spokesperson, the company reached out to the nursing union after the hearing, in an attempt to arrange a meeting “to negotiate in good faith, and we further suggested the involvement of a federal mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.”

“We are committed to working together with the MNA and with all of our staff to help meet employee needs,” the spokesperson said.