National Nurses United

NEWS BRIEFS Minnesota RNs deep into summer of bargaining MINNESOTA innesota nurses Association members have got their employers seeing red. That's because this spring and summer, RNs have been busy bargaining new contracts and using creative and spirited methods of showing their unity (often involving the wearing of MNA and NNU's signature red) to win fair contracts, improve patient safety, and protect their professional practice. One of the biggest contracts to be settled was the one covering about 1,200 registered nurses working at Essentia Health's St. Mary's Medical Center and Miller Dwan Medical Center in Duluth. After 33 straight hours of negotiations, the RN bargaining team on June 11 reached an agreement with management that protected the existing contract as well as providing across-the-board wage increases of 4.5 percent over the three-year pact, bonuses, protection of assistant head nurses and other members as part of the bargaining unit, and addressed staffing issues. Bargaining team members said that the quick negotiations were only possible because RN members put on a big display of unity at the outset. On the day the talks started, more than 225 nurses and their families showed up to cheer on their elected bargaining team and to bid, "Good morning!" to the management team. "It was fabulous, just awesome," said Mary Kirsling, RN and negotiating team member. "I was overwhelmed by the M 6 N AT I O N A L N U R S E turnout. I think it totally set the stage. Our CNO walked in and saw all those people with red on and knew that it wasn't just eight of us sitting at the table. There's thousands of us sitting at that table." There was a lot riding on this contract. While wages were an issue, Kirsling said that time off for proper ongoing education and training was also a hot topic, given the constantly changing technology nurses must face at work. "Nurses can't just wing it every day, and you don't want to wing it for your patients," said Kellie Brickson, an RN at St. Mary's/Mille Dwan Medical Center. "That's not conducive to patient safety or good patient care. You want educated nurses. We have to be ready to take care of whatever situation comes in." The 475 RNs at St. Luke's Hospital, also in Duluth, similarly conducted very quick negotiations, lasting only one day, to win their new contract in April. The big turnout to push for a good contract, however, started well before the day of negotiations and even back to the first day after the last contract was signed in 2010. Three years ago, St. Luke's nurses began organizing to address understaffing issues at their hospital. They submitted a petition signed by more than 75 percent of the nurses to inform management that staffing levels were putting patients at risk, and launched the "Q" button campaign. "Q" is medical shorthand for "every," and it was a way to educate patients and management that nurses were calling for safe staffing on every floor, every shift. Not only did management respond by hiring 20 fulltime RNs, but the button campaign really W W W. N AT I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G solidified the nurses' unity and showed the hospital that RNs were ready and able to work together for what they wanted. "We were not alone as a bargaining team," said Kate Donovan, a St. Luke's medicalsurgical RN and negotiator. "We were representing a much larger group that was interested and concerned about what was going on at the table." Indeed, even RNs at other Duluth hospitals, such as Essentia Health's St. Mary's Medical Center, showed up to support the St. Luke's RNs. And St. Luke's RNs did the same when their colleagues went into bargaining months later. Because they had largely addressed staffing issues, the team was able to focus only on wages during this round of talks. Nurses won 4.5 percent increases over the three years of the pact. Nurses in other parts of the state are also negotiating new agreements. In Mankato, the 470 RNs of Mayo Clinic Health System in May started contract talks, determined to protect patient safety. "My colleagues and I approach these negotiations with one primary focus," said David Nachreiner, RN and chair of the bargaining team, during his opening statement. "We believe our patients—our families, friends, and neighbors of this community—face unnecessary risk when they require the services of the hospital. They face that risk primarily due to inadequate staffing and poor planning." Nachreiner went on to describe how he and his coworkers often receive about five texts a day asking them to pick up shifts, even when many have already worked eight, nine, 10, or 12 hours. In Mora, First Light Health System RNs began bargaining in June for a new contract to cover the 60 nurses there. Even though it is a small unit, RN negotiators say that their coworkers are very engaged and willing to fight for a contract that respects seniority, addresses scheduling issues, makes improvement in on-call pay and process, and allows remaining sick and vacation pay to help fund continuing health coverage for retirees. "Nurses are saying that if by standing together we can improve our contract and also improve patient care, then 'Let's go for it,'" reported bargaining chair Margie Odendahl, RN. The RNs have been showing their unity through the color red; besides wearing red scrubs or red accents, some, like the operating room RNs, even started showing up for work in red lipstick! —Jan Rabbers JUNE 2013

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