Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1503465
10 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 3 WRAP-UP REPORT California HAYWARD registered nurses at St. Rose Hospital voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract on May 4, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention. "With our new contract, St. Rose nurses can improve our advocacy to address staffing concerns," said Dianne Kubota, RN in the medical/surgical- telemetry unit. "We also won affordable health care for our families and ourselves." Highlights of the contract include work- place violence prevention improvements, wage increases, and improved health care benefits. The new pact will be in effect through Dec. 31, 2025. California Nurses Association represents more than 200 nurses at St. Rose Hospital. HOLLISTER registered nurses at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister rallied May 22 to demand that the Board of Directors of the San Benito Health Care District be trans- parent about the hospital's fiscal crisis as the board considers filing Chapter 9 bankruptcy for the facility. "The nurses are committed to doing all we can to ensure that our patients have access to and receive the highest quality of care," said Diane Beck, an operating room nurse at Hazel Hawkins. "However, we are losing faith in our hospital administrators' ability to find a path out of this fiscal crisis. We need more transparency into the finances of this hospital and a better under- standing of where the money they take in is going." Nurses say it is imperative that Hazel Hawkins remains a full-service hospital and maintains all current service lines in order to best serve the people of San Benito County. Hazel Hawkins is the only hospital in Hollis- ter, a city of 43,000 people, and serves all of San Benito County. Over the last five years, Hazel Hawkins has received more than $20 million from property taxes collected by San Benito County. Last December, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors agreed to give Hazel Hawkins a tax advance of more than $2 million, and in January the hospi- tal was granted a $3 million loan by the state. "We are seeing millions of dollars being poured into this hospital, but we know very little about how it is being spent," said Beck. "We believe the taxpay- ers who pay into this hospital and the community that is served by this hospital have the right to demand transparency and a prudent path to solvency." California Nurses Association represents 120 nurses at Hazel Hawkins. LOS ANGELES registered nurses who work for PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital voted over- whelmingly in favor of ratifying a new four-year contract on May 11, winning pro- tections to improve patient safety and staff retention along with health and safety stan- dards to protect against infectious diseases. Highlights of the contract include: enhanced health and safety provisions to ensure nurses get the highest level of personal protective equipment and improved protection from infectious diseases and hazardous sub- stances; better protections for nurse advocacy on behalf of their patients; enhanced training protections for new grad- uate RNs to provide nurses more time for training and orientation; and historic eco- nomic gains and improvements to the wage structure to help retain and recruit nurses across the board. The new agreement covers Nov. 12, 2021, to Nov. 11, 2025. California Nurses Association represents more than 550 nurses at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital. Washington, D.C. george washington University Hospital (GWUH) nurse organizers continue to engage with nurses on a daily basis in their fight to be represented by District of Columbia Nurses Association in collective bargaining. Their efforts are supported by labor, not just in the DMV, but from nurses unions across the country. In addition, on May 16, DC Council Chairperson Phil Mendelson, along with eight of his col- leagues, sent a letter to GWUH CEO Kimberly Russo, requesting that "GWUH/UHS take the following steps to allow employees a free, unencumbered, and fair opportunity to exercise their right to vote: 1. Immediately reinstate Mr. Estrellas to his position as a registered nurse; 2. Refrain from illegal conduct that violates employees' rights to organize; and 3. Hold a fair and free election by secret ballot in a location that is neutral, convenient, and avoids the appearance of dissuading employees from voting, as is their right." Since DCNA filed an NLRB petition in March to unionize, the hospital has tried to intimidate, coerce, and retaliate against nurses who support the union. DCNA has filed numerous unfair labor practice charges, which are currently pending before the NLRB. DCNA is awaiting a decision and order which will set the election details, including dates, times, and the location. —Staff report From top: Nurses at PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles held rallies and actions in their fight for a new contract; RNs at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital are organizing and speaking out at health care district meetings in their struggle to save their hospital from closure. NEWS BRIEFS