National Nurses United

NewsBriefs 6/13/06 2:24 PM Page 10 NewsBriefs RNs and attract new nurses," said Tom Crane, an RN who works in the hospital's emergency department and was a member of the nurse negotiating team. "The contract improves both our working conditions, allowing us to deliver quality patient care, and our economic well being." One of the breakthroughs in the agreement was creating a retiree healthcare benefit. Hospital funding now provides for benefits of $1,000 per year of service, up to a lifetime maximum of $25,000, for retirees age 60 or older. Other improvements include restrictions against unsafe floating, a ban on mandatory overtime, RN review of new technology to protect nursing practice, and arbitration for staffing disputes between management and the RN-elected professional practice committee. {still bargaining} Kaiser Permanente master contract negotiations begin June 13 between more than 14,000 RNs and Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest nonprofit hospital chains in America. The bargaining team has developed priorities using numerous membership meetings, more than 7,000 survey responses, and discussions of issues and concerns with more than 1,000 RNs and NPs. University of California the university of California and CNA/ NNOC are negotiating four contentious contract items as revelations of massive executive pay and other benefit inequities in the UC system continue emerging daily. "We are hearing in e-mails about profits at the branches, and they're telling us that we're overpaid," said Maureen Dugan, a medical surgery RN at UC's San Francisco campus and one of the bargaining team members. "I feel like nurses are very angry." Reopener talks began in May over issues that had been carried over from the UC RNs' December settlement, including wages, health insurance costs, retiree health insurance, and missed meals and breaks. Little progress was made in the first round, and nurses are likely to declare an impasse the next round, which began May 30. "They are dismissing our concerns about nurses being rested and able to give safe care to patients," Dugan said. "It really shows they can't be trusted." —miranda everitt 10 REGISTERED NURSE RNS RALLY FOR FIRST MAJOR UNIONIZATION then delivered a signed mission staten what may be the first successful ment to hospital administration. unionization effort of a major Arizona Flagstaff RNs are organizing to gain a hospital, some 550 Flagstaff Medical voice in patient care, to have input into Center RNs will vote June 21 and 22 new information technologies on whether they want union the hospital introduces, and to representation through CNA/ [ARIZONA] empower nurses to bargain the NNOC. kinds of wages and benefits that will More than 150 RNs, their supporters, recruit and retain nurses. and CNA/NNOC representatives rallied —miranda everitt outside the hospital May 11. The group I Notice to Non-members R egardless of whether the collective bargaining agreement between your employer and CNA/NNOC says that you are required to be a member, the only thing which you must do as a condition of continued employment is to pay service fees to CNA/NNOC. You have the right to be a non-member, but non-members forfeit the many rights and benefits of CNA/NNOC membership. CNA/NNOC charges non-members the same amount in service fees as members pay in dues, but non-members are given an opportunity to object to funding certain expenditures by CNA/NNOC which are not germane to CNA/NNOC's role as your exclusive collective bargaining representative and to have their fees reduced based on those activities. Non-members have the right to be given sufficient information to enable them to make an informed decision on whether to object and to be told about CNA/NNOC's procedures for filing objections. Based on a review of the audited financial statement for the relevant period, it has been determined W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G that expenditures chargeable to non-members who object to funding non-representational activities is 93.9% of the regular membership dues rate. If you want to object to funding certain expenditures by CNA/NNOC which are not germane to CNA/NNOC's role as your exclusive collective bargaining representative for the six-month period January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2006, you must notify CNA/NNOC of your objection in writing and your objection must be received within 35 days from the date of receipt of the issue of Registered Nurse containing this notice. In order to implement a change in the accounting period for notices to non-members from a calendar year to a July – June fiscal year, a subsequent notice will be issued in the JulyAugust 2006 issue of Registered Nurse for the fiscal year period July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. Remember that choosing not to become a member of CNA/NNOC means that you will not have the right to vote on your contract or in union elections or to help formulate proposals for your next contract. JUNE 2006

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