National Nurses United

WRAP-UP REPORT California SAN BERNARDINO In late September, RNs working for San Bernardino County settled a two-year contract that not only did not give up any concessions but also managed to make some improvements in patient safety standards���a rare feat in a dif���cult bargaining environment where many public-sector unions have agreed to major wage and bene���t cuts. The RNs fought off these threats and even voted to authorize a strike to show the county they would not tolerate a rollback of their standards. SANTA MONICA Some 500 registered nurses at Saint John���s Health Center rati���ed their ���rst contract in late October, ending a long-running dispute at the hospital since they voted to join CNA in May 2011. Key to the two-year agreement are provisions that the nurses say will enhance patient protections, as well as economic gains, no reductions in nurses��� health coverage or pensions, and other contract protections that the RNs say will promote quality of care and retention of experienced RNs and recruitment of new nurses. Nurses said they achieved their primary goals of a contract that will encourage safer staf���ng and other patient protections, as well as addressing economic disparity for Saint John���s RNs compared with other CNA-represented nurses in the Los Angeles area. ���We are proud of this agreement,��� said Lori Hammond, RN, who works in the labor and delivery unit, is a member of the CNA RN bargaining team, and has worked at the hospital for 33 years. ���We have won important safeguards for patients and increased patient advocacy NOVEMBER 2012 Florida RNs discussed plans for ratios and lift team legislation at their statewide meeting in October. rights for nurses. This agreement will go a long way to help attract and retain RNs at Saint John���s.��� Florida At the statewide meeting in Tampa on Oct. 25, delegates from all 12 facility unions in Florida and from metro committees around the state discussed and then passed two motions on 2013 political action. The ���rst was to sponsor and campaign for the Employment Safety and Safe Patient Handling Act, and the second to sponsor and campaign for the Florida Hospital Patient Protection Act. The state Legislature���s session opens on March 5, 2013. During��the upcoming legislative session, NNOC-Florida will concentrate on mobilizing contact by nurses and patients with as many state lawmakers as possible through phone banking, personal handwritten letters, and of���ce visits to discuss the issues. All facility unions also reported on the most important issues they are tackling either through their grievance procedures or professional practice committees. Minnesota Dressed as mindless zombies, nurses took to Main Street in Bagley, Minn. on Halloween to call attention to Sanford Health hospital management���s proposals that they say are ���scary��� when it comes to protecting patient safety. ���In an unprecedented move, Sanford management came in and threw out a union 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 contract that had been in place for decades,��� said Rachel Lewis, an LPN at Sanford Bagley Medical Center. ���This contract existed for a reason���it kept our patients safe and gave nurses a voice in the workplace. Our nurses are also being forced to work 14-to-16 hour shifts at times because management isn���t providing us with the ancillary staff needed for non-patient care duties.��� A group of 30 Bagley LPNs and RNs have been bargaining with Sanford of���cials since April 2012 for a new contract. During the Halloween event, Bagley-area nurses dressed in costume as mindless zombies, and a witch stirred a cauldron with the sign, ���What���s Sanford Got Brewing?��� Nurses greeted trick-or-treaters, handed out candy, and talked with Bagley residents about the situation with Sanford. ���This is our community, and it���s our family, friends and neighbors who stand to suffer if Sanford has its way with this contract,��� Lewis said. ���We need to make sure they understand what���s at stake.��� Washington, D.C. Echoing a similar, recent takeover of dialysis operations at a hospital in Maine, MedStar Health recently announced the outsourcing of the hospital���s inpatient dialysis unit to the Colorado-based for-pro���t dialysis provider DaVita. Nurses were immediately concerned about this transaction since nurses in the dialysis department have more than 200 years of combined dialysis experience. Even more disturbing to nurses is DaVita���s focus on pro���t, possibly at the expense of patient safety. In 2011, DaVita raked in over $1.1 billion in pro���ts. During this time, the CEO of DaVita, Kent Thiry, a former employee of Mitt Romney���s Bain and Co., earned $17.5 million in compensation. While the pro���t motivation of DaVita and its CEO is enough cause for concern, nurses are also alarmed by a new study that suggests that patients dialyzed by for-pro���t dialysis chains are at increased risk of death. MedStar nurses sprung into action to advocate for patients by demanding increased scrutiny of the takeover. Nurses passed out ���yers outside the hospital on two separate occasions even though hospital administration attempted to use their security detail to harass and intimidate nurses. Nurses even distributed handbills at the Brookland Metro Station to encourage mass transit users to support nurses in their defense of quality patient care.�����Staff report N AT I O N A L N U R S E 7

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