National Nurses United

J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 2 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 CALIFORNIA A hmc seton Medical Center nurses held a one-day strike on Mar. 30 to demand that hospital management adheres to Califor- nia's safe staffing law, which sets the number of patients a nurse can safely care for according to the unit and patient acuity. "Throughout the ongoing Covid pan- demic, nurses have had to fight management for safe staffing," said Michelle Kubota, a reg- istered nurse at Seton Medical Center. "We know that increasing patient loads lead to poorer outcomes for our patients and causes moral injury and distress in nurses. Our patients deserve better and our communities deserve better. As union nurses and patient advocates, we will continue to hold AHMC accountable to the needs of our communities and demand they prioritize safe patient care over profits." Nurses say that over the last two years, they have seen more than 65 nurses leave the hospital because of the poor working conditions. Nurses note that in addition to repeatedly violating safe staffing laws, the hospital is failing to provide resources to support nurses. This includes a lack of nursing assistants, clerks, secretaries, and other personnel who can carry out non- medical functions. When nurses are left without these resources, they are forced to pick up that work, in addition to their nurs- ing duties. California Nurses Association represents 300 nurses at Seton. "Because we have no ancillary staff, when I am caring for Covid patients I not only have to address their medical needs but I also need to empty the garbage, clean up the rooms, deliver the food, assist my patients to the restroom, and answer calls from their family and friends," said Kub- ota. "Families don't understand why they may not hear back from me for hours after they call. It is extremely frustrating and distressing for them, and I feel horrible because I understand their distress. But we are so short-staffed that, far too often, I am caring for one patient when I may hear an alarm go off in another patient's room— but I am not in a position to stop what I am doing and run over there to see what is happening. When we have no support staff to check on that patient, we have no idea what is happening and delays in care hurt our patients. AHMC must do better to sup- port the nurses and the patients." —Rachel Berger MICHIGAN H ealth care workers at Sparrow Home Care have voted to form a union with the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA). With over 90 percent turnout in the election, the result of the vote count held in early March by the National Labor Relations Board was 31-0 votes in favor of unionizing. "We are so excited to have successfully won our union," said Sarah Pangle, an occu- pational therapist at Sparrow Home Care. "Because we are now united together as a union, we will be able to use our collective voice to advocate for our patients." As a result of this unanimous vote, more than two dozen health care workers will now have a union. They will join nurses at Spar- row Home Care who were already unionized as members of MNA, as well as nurses and health care professionals at Sparrow Hospi- tal who are also MNA members. "We are thrilled to be able to welcome our colleagues at Sparrow Home Care as our union siblings," said Katie Pontifex, RN and president of the MNA local at Sparrow Hos- pital as well as a member of MNA's board of directors. "We know that we are strongest when we are all united." Job classifications in the new union will include occupational therapists, occupa- tional therapist assistants, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, speech language pathologists, social work- ers, and home health aides. Health care workers at Sparrow Home Care are the first group of employees in the Lansing area to win a union in 2022 through the National Labor Relations Board. They hope that other workers will soon follow suit. "Being in a union is about recognizing that by working together you can make a difference. You can make your life, your coworkers' lives, and your community bet- ter," said Alice Tramper, a physical therapist at Sparrow Home Care. "It's about under- standing the power of solidarity." —Staff report Sparrow Home Care workers unanimously organize Will join Sparrow home care and hospital RNs in union Seton nurses hold one-day strike

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