National Nurses United

O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 NATIONAL M any of National Nurses United's registered nurses who work for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have seen combat, but now the VA nurses are fighting a different sort of war with the current administration. First in late October, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie refused to sign the contract that Veterans Health Administration nurses overwhelmingly ratified in September. In the nurses' memory, there is no instance where a VA secretary has found fault with some 300 provisions of the contract, the vast majority of which was already longstanding, standard language in previous agreements. National Nurses Organizing Committee/NNU has filed a petition for review with the Federal Labor Relations Authority in connection with the disapproval, as well as filing for injunctive relief in federal court. Just two weeks later, in what can only be described as a huge overstep of his legal authority, Wilkie announced the elimination of hours that unionized VA nurses and other medical professionals spend protecting veter- ans and advocating for coworkers' rights on the job. Known among VA nurses as "official time," it's the hours nurse reps spend pushing for best patient care practices, increasing staffing, bargaining a contract, arguing against closures, or representing a colleague in a dispute with their employer. In May, the presidential administration had already attempted to strip other federal workers and VA nurse leaders of this dedicated veteran protection time, but an August federal court ruling had struck down the executive order. Wilkie's move is another bite at that apple. "This is the latest salvo from this adminis- tration in its prolonged and orchestrated attack on the legal rights of our nurses who are committed to providing the highest qual- ity of care to those who served our country," said Bonnie Castillo, execu- tive director of NNU. "We intend to fight back against this illegal action." The VA has recognized official time for 40 years, since Congress passed the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act, which affirmed official time is an integral part of a collective bargaining agreement. "Our nurses are out there on the front lines every day protecting, advo- cating for, and caring for our respected veterans," said Irma Westmoreland, RN, and NNU board member. "My job is to protect those nurses so they can speak out without fear of retaliation. This is going to have a negative effect on patient care." NNU has filed suit against the VA on behalf of RNs to restore these criti- cal hours dedicated to protecting veterans. In the meantime, Westmoreland and other VA RN directors are having to completely readjust their schedules and use their personal time to fulfill their represen- tational roles. For example, RN Ray Fletch- er, the Manhattan VA director, has been using his lunch hour to send emails and make phone calls on behalf of coworkers, and requested annual leave to ensure he is able to attend his facility's holiday gathering. Fletcher, however, is determined to keep up the same level and quality of advocacy on behalf of nurses and, ultimately, veterans. "I am the director," he said. "My job is to hold their feet to the fire. I want people to know we are still here, and I'm gonna do what I gotta do." He wanted all VA nurses to understand that the administration's desire to privatize the public institution is the underlying reason for all the recent attacks on union nurses. The unions representing VA employ- ees are the main forces standing in the way of private industry swooping in and profit- ing off of the VA. "All of this is to restrict union rights," said Fletcher. "This whole thing is about privatization." —Staff report VA nurses fight back against recent attacks

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