National Nurses United

UNIVE RSITY OF CALIF ORNIA U C bargaining continues. With no real progress since the last report, it appears that UC is trying to pro- voke RNs to strike, which may be the only way for CNA to achieve a fair contract and defeat UC's takeaways. The key is- sues remain: protecting the UC pension and retiree health benefits; defending RN scope of practice through safe staffing and the control of new technology; continu- ing and expanding the use of lift teams for improved patient safety and RN safety; and securing fair salaries for all UC RNs. SUTTE R HE ALTH S utter dropped a bomb on negoti- ations in early June when it an- nounced that it planned to dissolve the oncology and geriatric psy- chology units at the Summit campus of Alta Bates-Summit Medical Center. "Part of it is a diversionary tactic," says Joan Wiley, oncology's evening charge RN. "It's putting us off our bargaining balance." Sutter RNs are determined to fight these cuts—cuts Sutter prom- ised would never happen when it merged the two campuses in 1999. The hospital corporation also continues to propose different expiration dates for the six Sutter contracts that currently expired together—essentially a decla- ration of war. Sutter RNs are also fight- ing for better pension and retiree health benefits, and share many of the same goals as other system RNs on win- ning provisions to ensure safe staffing and protection against hospital tech- nology that restricts or replaces their RN professional judgment. Sutter RNs are mobilizing and prepared to stand together to block these takeaways and secure contract improvements. HOSPITAL CORPORATION OF AME RICA (HCA) H CA (formerly Columbia/HCA) has taken an aggressive ap- proach toward the nurses in con- tract negotiations. They are proposing a series of takeaways, including an in- crease in the cost of retiree health in- surance for HCA RNs, erosion of the contractual provision against manda- tory overtime, and reduced protections against involun- tary floating to units that are outside the RN's expertise. Management claims to need "flexibility" to staff hospitals and reduce their costs. They have rejected CNA's proposals to establish safe patient staffing standards, a no cancellation provision, and protec- tions against subcontracting RN work to temporary agencies. RNs have stated that they will do whatever it takes to maintain the standards they have fought for over the years, advance the profession, and advocate for their patients. CATHOLIC HE ALTHCARE WE ST I n an ironic but all-too-common turn of events these days for healthcare workers, CHW is proposing to dras- tically increase the costs of drugs for CHW RNs and restrict healthcare choice by limiting nurses at Sequoia, St. Mary's, and St. Francis to only the PacifiCare health plan. Nurses objected, describing their prior problems with PacifiCare to the CHW negotiator, who stated that CHW wants to "get control of costs"—despite a projected $482 mil- lion increase in operating income since 2000. Management has also rejected all of CNA's proposals to ensure safe pa- tient care, such as no involuntary float- ing, no cancellation, no subcontracting, and ratio compliance oversight. In ad- dition, CHW is pushing a five-year con- tract with two to four percent per year increases, while RNs asked for a two- year contract with a 12 percent, then 10 percent raise. Of 32 proposals CNA put on the table, we have reached ten- tative agreement on five, CHW rejected 22, and did not respond to five. CHW RNs have said they will not tolerate takeaways. A Sacramento superior court judge ruled on June 7 that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke the law when he issued an emergency order last November to delay the long- awaited step-down of medical-surgical staffing ratios and excuse emergency departments from the law. That means medical-surgical units must have at minimum one RN for every five patients, and all departments must observe ratios at all times. The governor and Department of Health Services say they will appeal, and a per- manent regulation is pending. Judge Judy Holzer Hersher found that Schwarzenegger and DHS illegally tried to usurp the Legislature's author- ity to make law, and could show no ev- idence to justify making emergency changes to the regulations. Perhaps most significantly, Her- sher's ruling solidly rejected arguments by the state and the hospital industry that DHS could weaken the ratios be- cause hospitals say they cannot afford to hire or recruit enough nurses. "Con- siderations of nursing shortages and economic impacts are outside the scope of DHS' rulemaking authority," wrote Hersher. CNA believes it will be extremely difficult for Schwarzenegger and DHS to tamper with the ratios again using the same arguments. "We will be watching," said Deborah Burger, RN and CNA president. "We will challenge any new regulatory actions which seek to weaken the current ratio regulation, and we will scrutinize DHS enforce- ment." AB 394, the ratio law, was signed by former Gov. Gray Davis in October 1999. In November 2004, Schwarzeneg- ger issued the first of two emergency orders to suspend major provisions of the ratio law. CNA filed a lawsuit in De- cember challenging the emergency reg- ulations, and quickly launched a massive public campaign to protest the governor's actions. —Staff report Bargaining Watch 2005 Final Ratio Ruling C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 7

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