National Nurses United

WRAP-UP REPORT Left: The RN bargaining team at Barstow Community Hospital is one of five hospitals affiliated with Community Health Systems in California, Ohio, and West Virginia that are now negotiating first contracts. California petaluma valley hospital rns represented by the California Nurses Association held an informational picket in November at the two St. Joseph Health hospitals in Sonoma County in a show of support for nurses at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital (SRMH), who staged a three-day strike. SRMH is represented by a different union, the Staff Nurses Association. But RNs at the two St. Joseph facilities say they share a common goal: safe staffing and a focus on patients over profits. Bargaining is set to begin for CNA-represented Petaluma, Eureka, and Apple Valley facilities in early December. St. Joseph Health System, the hospital chain based in Orange County that operates both PVH and SRMH, is demanding drastic cuts to the Santa Rosa nurses��� contract, including the elimination of staffing language that gives RNs the ability to effectively advocate for patients.��The hospital chain is also demanding severe economic takeaways, despite amassing nearly $200 million in profits last year. Petaluma RNs held a one-day strike in mid-June to protest a 40 percent cut in ���stand-by��� pay for RNs who are required to be available to work, and a policy that forced a��substantial portion of nurses be on call rather than providing regular, scheduled staffing. This practice has not only led to chronic understaffing at the facility, but also put too many RNs at risk of fatigue after being on call to work for up to 72 hours. The hospital���s actions are part of what the RNs view as a pattern of practices that jeopardizes patient safety and the ability of nurses to safely advocate for patients. Florida nurses at two south florida facilities���Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah and Florida Medical Center in nearby Lauderdale Lakes���voted in November by big margins to authorize strike action if necessary to bring negotiations to a 8 N AT I O N A L N U R S E Above: RNs from Petaluma Valley Hospital on the picket line in support of colleagues at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. successful conclusion. Open issues center on staffing enforcement, patient care issues and a fair wage system. New York rn jill furillo, until recently a longtime NNU senior staffer and bargaining director, was named in November as the new executive director of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). Furillo is expected to provide dynamic and visionary leadership for the 37,000member union just as it is preparing to chart a new course for itself. In October, NYSNA voted to disaffiliate from the American Nurses Association, which has long been dominated by nursing managers and educators who haven���t worked at the bedside in years, and pursue an agenda of vigorous and direct advocacy on behalf of staff nurses and patients. Furillo comes with extensive experience. She worked since 1994 for the California Nurses Association and, as the director of government relations, successfully shepherded the state���s staffing ratios law, the first in the nation. She has also helped organize countless facilities, and worked as an ER nurse in New York. ���Staff report 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 be able to reach thousands of nurses and community members nationally and internationally. Offering courses online allows NNU to strengthen alliances with people and organizations who support our fight for universal healthcare and a more equitable distribution of resources in the United States and around the world. As NNU expands and grows, building alliances and community with all who share RN values is becoming increasingly important. NNU���s disaster and community relief program, RN Response Network (RNRN), will offer a limited number of scholarships each term to RNRN members who are interested in completing the certificate program. The scholarships will provide the opportunity for RNRN members to enhance their fundamental understanding of global health conditions, as well as the connection between disaster relief, the core mission of RNRN, and the global conditions that contribute to the ability or inability of health systems to properly respond when disasters occur. ���I have worked on a variety of global health projects in Africa and Latin America and these experiences have taught me that empowering women is central to creating sustainable change and improving global health outcomes,��� said Jane Ivory Ernstthal, RN, who also completed the first pilot course and, like Malm, is an RNRN scholarship recipient. ���This class has put my personal experience in an academic context and helped me deepen my understanding of why and how women���s health movements are so valuable. It has helped me gain in-depth knowledge that will help me strengthen and further the hands-on work that I do. The readings, lectures, and assignments are poignant, thoughtful, inspired, fascinating, practical, and fun. I will carry on what I have learned here in my work, life, and heart.��� For more information on the course and certificate program, contact Kelly CooganGehr at kcoogan-gehr@nationalnursesunited.org. To apply for the scholarship fund, or for information on how to join RN Response Network, contact Alice Grubb at agrubb@ nationalnursesunited.org. RNRN sign-up information and other RNRN programs are also located under ���RN Heroes��� on the NNU website. Watch for further updates on the certificate program on the NNU website, at www.nationalnursesunited.org. ���Staff report DECEMBER 2012

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