National Nurses United

WRAP-UP REPORT California District of Columbia to step up the call for the DC City Council to move forward on the Patient Protection Act, 10 N AT I O N A L N U R S E From left: RNs at John Muir Mount Diablo Hospital in Concord, Calif. celebrate a new contract; RNs in Washington, D.C. picketed a city councilmember's fundraiser to pressure her to schedule a hearing on their pending ratios bill NNU's bill to establish mandated, minimum RN-to-patient ratios in DC, registered nurses from District of Columbia hospitals, joined by community allies, picketed on Oct. 1 a fundraiser hosted by a hospital industry powerbroker for DC Councilwoman Yvette Alexander. Alexander, who chairs the Council's Health Committee, was one of 10 council members who co-sponsored the bill when it was introduced by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson in February. However, Alexander canceled and postponed for months a hearing on the bill, and seems to be falling under the spell of the furious lobby campaign by hospital executives. The Oct. 1 hospital powerbroker-sponsored fundraiser for Alexander was the latest indication of that effort. However, within days of the picket, Alexander scheduled a hearing date for the bill, now set for Nov. 8. The bill has broad support from labor and community organizations across the District. In April, for example, 43 faith leaders announced their support for the bill and urged the council to act on passing it. Introduction of the bill followed reports of a 2012 NNU survey of DC-area nurses which found 57 percent of DC nurses say staffing is inadequate always or almost always; 64 percent said they have less time to care for patients; and 87 percent say that mandatory RN-to-patient ratios, such as those in California, are needed in DC. W W W. N AT I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G Veterans Affairs va is implementing what is billed as a newand-improved timekeeping system, but nurses report it is a bust. Scores of nurses did not get paid Oct. 25 as expected. Nurses' pay issues range from not getting entire paychecks to missing holiday pay, overtime pay, weekend differential pay (25-35 percent per hour), and on-call pay. For months, NNU had been telling VA officials that the system was not ready for prime time. Now the prediction has come true, and nurses are hurting across the country with reduced or no pay. VA nurses have filed a national grievance demanding pay within 48 hours and a reversion to the old timekeeping system until issues with the new program can be resolved. The timekeeping debacle adds insult to injury as VA nurses have endured five years of pay freezes. Not only has the VA failed to provide cost-of-living increases, it has also frozen increases under its Locality Pay Survey (LPS), a system whereby the VA can set pay rates based on community pay rates to allow it to be competitive with hiring and retaining qualified RNs. NNU RNs contend the VA is overstepping its bounds and abusing its right to set pay. This will be a long-term battle to correct pay inequities but NNU-VA is up to the task. —Staff report O C TO B E R 2 01 3 ABOVE RIGHT: JAY MALLIN some 700 registered nurses at John Muir Mount Diablo Hospital in Concord voted Oct. 1 to ratify a new three-year contract that they say strengthens patient care standards as well as securing nurses' health coverage. Key elements of the Mt. Diablo pact include new language that ensures safe RN-to patient staffing at all times, and strengthens safe floating policies. Additionally, the RNs succeeded in securing their healthcare coverage. The hospital had sought to eliminate a provision that waives the employee and dependent contributions to healthcare premiums for RNs who are the major wage earner in their family. They also maintained existing health plan options, including one with full employer-paid coverage, and another with only small premium payments for the RNs. All RNs will earn a 7.5 percent acrossthe-board pay increase over the three years of the agreement with an additional onetime $500 to pay for continuing education that is required by law to maintain their licenses. RNs were also successful in fighting back a large number of takeaways and attacks on current RN standards. Mt. Diablo Medical Center is run by John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek which has a joint venture partnership with Tenet Healthcare Corporation that also covers Tenet's San Ramon Medical Center.

• Cover