National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_Mar RAD's changes Korea back 4/2/10 6:11 PM Page 7 Employers' Proposals Threaten Patient Care, Say Minnesota Nurses MINNESOTA he first session of negotiations for a series of contracts throughout Minnesota's Twin Cities exposed a wide gap in commitments to patient care between the hospitals and Minnesota Nurses Association bargaining-unit nurses. The Twin Cities Hospitals/MNA Pension Plan negotiations opened on March 5 with proposals by the employer to reduce the pension benefit to scales nurses haven't seen since 1968.  "The employer's proposals don't really give me any incentive to continue working," said Pension negotiator Pat Webster, RN from North Memorial Hospital. T When nurses are driven away from the bedside by profit-driven tactics, patient care suffers, and MNA nurses are determined not to let that happen.  As the pension table opened, nurses swooped up stickers proclaiming "Protect Our Pension," and hospital management in every facility couldn't walk a hallway without seeing dozens of nurses proudly wearing their conviction on their scrubs.  The action was fast and formidable.  The wordy, lengthy table report sent out by employers within an hour of closing the session was effectively neutralized by nurses sending their own message, the only one necessary: "Nurses are putting patients  first, and we are solid."  Fairview Nurses to Management: "Can't Buy No Patient Satisfaction" MNA nurses at Fairview Health Systems did a double take when they saw the newest ploy from management. The memo was filled with bubbly marketing terms like "opportunity," "build momentum," and "cumulative statewide goal." Nurses initially saw it as the latest variation on the theme du jour: engaging employees in efforts to boost patient satisfaction. What made this push different, however, was the phrase "one-time monetary award." Management was seeking MNA's support to offer bargaining-unit nurses a financial reward if more patients scored Fairview 2.5 percent higher in satisfaction than the previous year. How very convenient – and yet tragically ill-timed. Contract negotiations were set to begin within three weeks of receipt of the missive and in the wake of difficult cutbacks. MNA shot back a letter immediately, saying "MNA finds the timing of this proposal and the method chosen for improving patient satisfaction rather suspect. Fairview has recently gone through a painful process to reduce costs with layoffs, restructuring and excessive mandatory low need census hours. MNA would be interested in knowing why Fairview has not invested its resources into improving staffing levels and other resources supporting patient care." The MNA response also went on to remind Fairview management that MNA nurses advocate for patients on a day-to-day basis and warned "bribing nurses to inflate satisfaction scores . . . is unacceptable." MNA made a formal demand to bargain over terms and conditions of employment, and is awaiting response regarding the matter. MARCH 2010 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 In addition to reducing the benefit formulary to 1.1 percent from 1.65 percent, employers also have proposed eliminating the early retirement option and eliminating another important benefit regarding accumulated hours.  Contract talks for the 14 Twin Cities facilities occur from mid-March through May 31. MNA nurses in Duluth will begin negotiations in April, with a contract expiration date of June 30 for all three major facilities. —Jan Rabbers Successful Push Back on Governor's Plan to Decimate Healthcare for the Poor innesota's governor and state legislature signed an agreement March 5 to restore cuts to medical benefits for low-income residents, the result of a determined campaign by nurses, other unions, faith communities and activists. Governor Tim Pawlenty, a Republican and reported Presidential hopeful, met with widespread opposition when he attempted to eliminate funding for General Assistance Medical Care, a program for Minnesota's most vulnerable populations. MNA nurses joined thousands of Minnesotans to call, write and rally on behalf of people Pawlenty was willing to turn his back on. Much of the population affected by cuts to GAMC are military veterans or homeless, and require compassionate monitoring. While attending a conservative PAC convention in Washington DC, Pawlenty sent a long-distance veto to a bill restoring the funding that had passed by overwhelming margins in both chambers of the state legislature in February. Undaunted, House Representative Erin Murphy, a registered nurse who once served as MNA's Executive Director, reentered negotiations with legislators and hammered out an agreement that the Governor agreed to sign. M N AT I O N A L N U R S E 7

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