National Nurses United

J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 0 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 7 MINNESOTA M innesota nurses Association (MNA) nurses working at Essen- tia Health in Virginia, Minn., ratified a new contract in Sep- tember after a spirited campaign drawing on the support of their community, includ- ing an informational picket Aug. 3 in which more than 100 people marched in solidarity, including community supporters, legisla- tors, and local union members. "It's truly a testament to see you guys out here standing in unity," said Rep. Dave Lisle- gard, who attended to show his support. "But you know what, it's really sad that you have to stand out here and fight for a safe working environment. It's so unfortunate that you have to negotiate that. And if they're not willing to negotiate that, it's time for the state of Minnesota to legislate that!" More than 100 nurses had been without a contract since Aug. 1, 2019. They engaged in good faith bargaining with negotiators of the Virginia hospital, but management continued to stall and demand concessions. "We don't want to be doing this," Jodi Hensley, an RN at Essentia Health, told FOX21 News. "We want a contract so we can focus on taking care of our patients and our community." The informational picket showed that nurses were ready to keep fighting until their contracts included safety language and address safe staffing levels. Their per- sistence paid off when they reached a tentative agreement with Essentia Health in the early morning hours of Aug. 28. Nurses voted to accept and ratify the agree- ment on Sept. 29. —Amber Smigiel NATIONAL I n august, hca registered nurses called on the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to inspect all HCA-owned-and-operated hospitals and issue citations against the hospital giant for "willful violation" of workplace safety haz- ards. The complaint filed by National Nurses United urged OSHA to seek a federal court injunction to order HCA to immediately abate the dangerous conditions, including failing to notify workers when they've been exposed to Covid-19 and pushing those who are or may be Covid-19 positive, but not show- ing active symptoms, to continue working. Such unsafe behavior, warned NNU in the complaint, not only leads to spread of the virus amidst a still surging pandemic, but "as a result, nurses and other health care workers at HCA facilities are in imminent danger of serious physical harm or even death." The complaint also asserts that "HCA's efforts to notify workers of exposure are inconsistent, at best, and negligent, at worst," and that "HCA is effectively causing an unknown number of workers who have COVID-19 to continue working while conta- gious, unwittingly spreading the coronavirus to their colleagues and patients." The 17 facilities named in the complaint are in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, North Car- olina, and Texas. At Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, one HCA Employee Health staff member admit- ted, "We know nurses will be positive, so we're not testing them." Ultimately, fines for willful violation of up to $134,937 per facility could be leveled, or up to nearly $2.3 million if applied to all the facilities named in the complaint. —Staff report Essentia Health nurses win new contract HCA nurses demand OSHA sanctions

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