Unionized nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent gathered Saturday to demand a final contract after two years of failed negotiations with the hospital.
During an event that drew Maine legislators, who were in town for the Can-Am International Sled Dog Races, nurses issued a public letter that alleged retaliation from hospital leaders amid continuing negotiations.
Northern Maine Medical Center nurses voted to unionize in January 2024, with nearly three-quarters of the 92 nurses in favor. They and Northern Maine Medical Center have never reached a contract.
“Over the past two years, you have no doubt heard about the conflict that has grown between the hospital and us,” the union members said in the letter, released by the Maine State Nurses Association, which represents 4,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Maine and is part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee,
The Bangor Daily News obtained a copy of the letter, which 36 nurses signed. The union was built on six principles, according to the document: to have a part in decisions that affect nurses and patients, to promote transparency, to retain staff and providers, to keep the hospital sustainable, to obtain safe staffing levels and to promote patients over profit.
Since they unionized, nurses have faced bullying, intimidation and retaliation, the letter stated, though it did not give specific details.
Nurses at both the Fort Kent facility and Houlton Regional Hospital, which share executive administration, threatened to strike in September 2025 if contracts weren’t finalized. The groups said they were fighting for patient safety and the ability to recruit and retain nurses.
Hospital CEO Jeff Zewe said at that time that a strike was unnecessary because of new services and staffing plans in both Houlton and Fort Kent.
Houlton Regional Hospital nurses held a two-day strike in November 2025.
A petition to eliminate union representation at Northern Maine Medical Center failed early this year, when nurses voted to keep their union.
The nurses gathered Saturday to affirm their commitment to patients and the community during a difficult time at the hospital, said Terry Caron, RN and member of the nurses’ bargaining team.
Caron called for a stop to the hospital’s contract delays and retaliation against union members.
“We are committed to providing the best possible care to everyone who comes to our
hospital, despite the current difficulties and delays we face. In fact, providing the best
possible care is why we formed our union in the first place,” Caron said. “When nurses speak with one voice for ourselves and for our patients, then everyone is better off.”
Local nurses formed the union because they didn’t want to leave the region to work elsewhere, Courtney Moreira, a registered nurse who works in intensive care at the Fort Kent hospital, said Saturday.
“As nurses, we choose Northern Maine Medical Center as the hospital where we want to work,” she said. “We choose to be active and vocal advocates when decisions are made at Northern Maine that are not in the interests of our patients or our community.”
The BDN reached out to Northern Maine Medical Center Saturday. An official took a reporter’s call but did not immediately issue a response.
Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Senate District 23, democratic gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson and Graham Platner, a democratic U.S. Senate candidate, attended Saturday’s rally, the union said in a release.