National Nurses United

NewsBriefs.REV_April 6/24/10 2:38 PM Page 10 NEWS BRIEFS University of Chicago RNs Vote for National Nurses United, Seek Workplace Changes ILLINOIS  egistered nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center, First Lady Michelle Obama's former employer, voted by 70 percent May 19 and 20 for a direct membership in National Nurses United. The 1,300 UCMC RNs say that with the support of NNU they will finally be able to press for critical patient safety changes at the medical center, including improved patient staffing and an end to scheduling practices that undermine patient care conditions. In a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, the RNs voted to switch to NNU from their former representative, the Illinois Nurses Association, by a margin of 627 votes for NNU,  335 votes for INA, and  22 for no union. "We are thrilled to join with our nurse colleagues at Cook County and around the R 10 N AT I O N A L N U R S E nation to achieve concrete improvements, such as minimum nurse-to-patient ratios with additional staffing based on patient acuity and other workplace standards," said Marianne Curia, a neonatal intensive care RN at UCMC. "We have seen the tremendous achievements of NNU members and are proud to join them." The University of Chicago Medical Center is one of the most prominent hospitals in the region – Michelle Obama served as Vice President for Community and External Affairs at the Medical Center prior to moving to Washington – but has eroded standards that affect both the quality of care and the ability of the hospital to retain its most experienced professional RNs. Tom Magana, an intensive care unit RN at the hospital, said the nurses are concerned about "the future of patient care" at UCMC and a long history of hospital management "ignoring the nurses' contract and our efforts to promote improved care conditions and professional standards that are necessary to protect our patients and 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 promote the retention of experienced RNs and recruitment of new nurses." While UCMC nurses recently ratified a contract after long, arduous negotiations with UCMC that included three separate contract votes, the switch to NNU will allow the nurses to reopen the agreement to pursue essential changes. Top priorities will be enhanced safe staffing with minimum nurse-to-patient ratios and bringing a halt to mandatory shift rotation, in which nurses are forced to continually shift between working days and nights. Studies have documented that shift rotation leads to performance deficits due to fatigue, sleeplessness, and reduced alertness. "The hospital's practice of shift rotation has serious consequences for patient safety and can result in medical errors," said Muriel Lee, RN. "It is disgraceful that the hospital continues to put patients and nurses at risk. With NNU representation, we are going to bring this practice to an end." —Jan Rodolfo, RN M AY 2 0 1 0

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