National Nurses United

DC nurses win first union election in decades WASHINGTON, D.C. egistered nurses at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 10 became the first non-union District hospital in decades to vote to join a union. In an election greeted by cheers and tears, and braving bitter cold and snow, the Providence RNs voted 232 to 66—a 78 percent margin—to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United.  R NNOC/NNU will represent some 400 RNs at the hospital, which is a part of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, the country's biggest Catholic hospital system. Like growing numbers of RNs around the country, Providence nurses sought to organize with NNOC/NNU to gain additional collective strength to improve patient safety conditions and working and practice standards for RNs. "Providence RNs contacted NNOC/NNU because of its enormous clout across the country and its unprecedented achievements for Minnesota RNs present united front to Allina Health MINNESOTA fter another session in an eight-month long contract negotiation process ended without an agreement, Regina Medical Center nurses bargaining with the Allina Health system are calling for the healthcare corporation to put the community first. "We are deeply concerned that Allina wants to treat workers in Hastings differently than they do in other parts of the state, and that tactic will affect the care we are able to deliver to our neighbors and friends," said Minnesota Nurses Association negotiator Jane Traynor, RN. MNA nurses from all over the Allina corporate system arrived in Hastings, Minn. early on Dec. 3 to help their new colleagues deliver a A DECEMBER 2013 message of solidarity on behalf of their patients to hospital administrators at Regina Medical Center. As yet another session began in contract negotiations, a sea of red turned out in support of the MNA bargaining team. "It's empowering," said Traynor. "These have been difficult negotiations with Allina, and we appreciate the support from nurses who have come from other facilities, as well as the nurses who work here." Allina swept the once-independent 57bed regional facility into the corporate fold in September. Even though Regina Medical Center is just 20 minutes away from other MNA-represented metro facilities (including Allina-owned units) that enjoy mature contracts and a pension, Allina administration is offering substandard contract terms to the nearly 100 Regina nurses. 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 nurses and patients," said Shirley Commissiong, an emergency room RN at Providence. "We are thrilled to have won a powerful collective voice for our patients and our colleagues." "The nurses at Providence have spoken. Our main goal is quality patient care," said Providence Telemetry RN Donna Cobey. "I'm so happy about our victory, which will set new standards for nurses in our community." NNU and its affiliate members are rapidly becoming a major force in the District. For example, Providence RNs have been among nurses across the city campaigning for an NNU-backed bill, the Patient Protection Act, that limits the maximum number of patients that can be assigned to an RN, also known widely as RN-to-patient ratios. RNs continue to campaign for action on the bill, discussed in November at a city council hearing during which a Providence RN spoke in support. Since the 2009 founding of NNU, it has won elections for nearly 17,000 RNs. —Staff report Hospital negotiators walked into a room full of determined nurses who stood proudly behind the MNA negotiations teams and voiced their purpose for being there. "Every patient deserves the same level of excellent healthcare," said Mary Turner, RN, a member of MNA's Board of Directors who works at North Memorial Hospital (a non-Allina facility) in the Twin Cities. "And every nurse in Minnesota deserves to be treated fairly," she added. MNA President Linda Hamilton, a pediatric RN at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, offered a global perspective. "Today, 20,000 nurses in Minnesota and 185,000 across the nation are standing up for what nurses need to care for their patients." In addition to Turner and Hamilton, nurses from River Falls Medical Center, Unity Hospital, United Hospital, and Abbott Northwestern all turned out in support of their colleagues. Traynor delivered a petition to Allina negotiators that was signed by three quarters of the MNA nurses in the bargaining unit at Regina Medical Center. The powerful, clear message was headlined "Because our patients deserve highquality care," and issued this bottom line: "We, the undersigned will not accept a contract offer that makes a second-rate commitment to the nursing care our patients deserve. We demand the same commitment to nursing in Hastings that Allina has made with every other MNA contract in the metro area." —Jan Rabbers N AT I O N A L N U R S E 7

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