National Nurses United

NewsBriefs:2 4/24/08 1:19 AM Page 5 PA Nurses to Hold First PostAffiliation House of Delegates living in areas that have a comparable, if not higher, cost of living to other UC communities. UC Irvine and UCSD RNs will enjoy equity adjustments in addition to an acrossthe-board 6 percent salary increase for RNs at all medical centers. These improvements mean that UC Irvine and UCSD RNs are "better recognized for the critical role they play in the provision of patient care," says Tam Nguyen, RN, of UC Irvine. Additional salary increases for all UC RNs will be negotiated in contract reopeners in autumn of 2008 and 2009. Nursing practice protections that have become a national hallmark of CNA/NNOC contracts have been included in the contract. Contract language guarantees that new technology introduced by UC will not replace RNs' professional judgment or interfere in the delivery of care to patients. Significant protections regarding union protections and educational leave are also features in the contract, as are new nurse representative councils in each facility. Running the course of nearly a year, negotiations with UC were stretched thin at points and encountered several bumps along the way. UC nurses reported hostile environments in many facilities, the most notorious of which was UC Irvine, which fired 13 RNs over the course of four months in 2007. A fourteenth was suspended when she investigated the firing of a newborn nursery RN who reported an error with infant vaccine doses, but was quickly returned to work with full back pay after media attention and protests by fellow UCI RNs. UC's previous contract expired June 30, 2007 and was extended to Sept. 30, 2007 with the agreement of all parties. In November 2007, UC RNs clearly rejected UC's final offer, which still included major takeaways and regressions on previous contract gains. The Public Employment Relations Board declared bargaining to be at an impasse, initiating state-facilitated mediation on Nov. 5, 2007. The three-year contract, covering 10,000 UC RNs, expires in September of 2010, with reopeners in 2008 and 2009. —staff report APRIL 2008 his april, hundreds of nurses from across Pennsylvania and other states will converge in Harrisburg for the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals' 2008 House of Delegates. The April 28–29 convention marks the first House of Delegates since PASNAP's affiliation with CNA/NNOC earlier this year, which it announced at a Jan. 10 joint press conference. Accordingly, the two-day agenda is filled with introductions of CNA/ NNOC nurse leaders and explorations of how the nurses' organizations can work together towards common goals, such as patient advocacy and single-payer healthcare. CNA/NNOC National Chief Director of Nursing Practice and Patient Advocacy Hedy Dumpel, RN, JD will be presenting two continuing education classes on technology and magnet status. Pauline Worsfold, RN, of the Canadian Federation of Nurses' Unions, will be appearing to speak on a single-payer panel and guide a workshop. Several CNA/NNOC board of director members will also attend. Now among those directors is PASNAP President Patricia Eakin, RN, who was elected to represent the Pennsylvania nurses on the CNA/NNOC Board of Directors by unanimous vote on March 8. "We are thrilled to welcome the PASNAP RNs to our organization," said Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN, a member of the CNA/NNOC Council of Presidents, who also noted CNA/NNOC's eight-year history of working together with PASNAP since its founding and the groups' shared values. "Their primary agenda is about making sure that nurses have the staff they need, that patients are not injured, and that nurses don't burn out and leave the profession." Indeed, in addition to providing strong support for HR 676, the national singlepayer bill, PASNAP nurses are organizing around nurse-to-patient ratios. HB 171, the Pennsylvania ratios bill, is sponsored by Rep. Tim Solobay and represents significant professional improvements to many Pennsylvania nurses. "There is a large body of scientific T evidence, as well as unlimited anecdotal evidence, that California's safe staffing bill has helped reverse the nursing shortage in California," said Eakin. "What has been won in California should be won in Pennsylvania and nationwide for the sake of patient care." PASNAP was created in May 2000, when nurse delegates voted to separate from the teachers' union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, of which they were a subsidiary. Before PSEA, the nurses were a part of the Pennsylvania Nurses Association. For members of both PASNAP and CNA/NNOC, the affiliation created a greater depth of resources and reinforced the feeling of community among nurse activists. "By joining forces with CNA and the National Nurses Organizing Committee, Pennsylvania nurses will benefit from the resources and expertise of the most dynamic and effective professional nurses unions in the nation," said Eakin during the January press conference, adding that, by affiliating, "PASNAP increases its opportunities to improve the working lives of nurses and the care they deliver to patients." CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro echoed Eakin's sentiments: "Our unity is a strong signal to nurses in Pennsylvania and other nurses across the nation of the opportunity for growth, a stronger voice in the workplace and the public arena." As an affiliate of CNA/NNOC, PASNAP now enjoys the support and benefits of being affiliated with the AFL-CIO. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney welcomed the arrival of the Pennsylvania nurses in January, saying, "[We are] delighted to welcome PASNAP nurses into the AFL-CIO through their affiliation with CNA/NNOC. There is no more important time for nurses to unite for a stronger voice. The joining together of these two aggressive unions for registered nurses is great news." With some 5,100 members, PASNAP's affiliation brings CNA/NNOC's total membership to more than 80,000, solidifying its status as the nation's largest union of directcare nurses. —staff report PENNSYLVANIA W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G REGISTERED NURSE 5

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