National Nurses United

6 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G J U N E 2 0 1 5 NEWS BRIEFS CALIFORNIA S alinas valley Memorial Hospi- tal registered nurses fought a long, tough contract battle with management that included a planned strike, testimony before the hospi- tal's board of directors, decisions from factfinders, and multiple vigils and actions, but they prevailed. RNs voted overwhelm- ingly, by 98.5 percent, in late May to ratify a new four-year contract with the hospital that they say will protect and improve patient care standards. The contract will retain the vital clinical role of the charge nurse, a key issue in the contract fight. Nurses say the retention of this position will strengthen quality of care at the hospital—a win for the whole community. "This is a great victory, and there's such a feeling of empowerment among the nurses, knowing we can now move forward with being advocates for our patients to the best of our ability," said Dianne Soria, an RN with Salinas Valley for 35 years. "We stood up for what's best for our patients and our profession, and this contract will really help uphold the highest level of care for our pa tients and our community in the years to come." As staff nurses know, the charge nurse plays a key coordinator role in a hospital unit: making clinical assignments of RNs to patients, assisting in emergencies, and being available to assist bedside RNs with hands-on care as needed. After more than a year of negotiations with administration, who wanted to replace the charge nurse with a management tier that would provide no hands-on direct patient care and not have an independent voice in advocating for patients, nurses negotiated a contract that retains this critical RN position. "This ratification is the end result of nurses not backing down," said Tricia Deblois, RN, who has been with Salinas Valley for 25 years. "And, with the support of the wider community, including Assem- blymember Luis Alejo and City Coun- cilmember Tony Barrera, we now officially have a contract in place that will keep the charge nurse position, to the benefit of the best possible patient care." The new contract will run through March 2019. —Staff report a healthy society. Nurses recognize the root causes of human suffering instantly and know that our work extends well beyond the bedside. The NNU's visible and militant role in labor, environmental, and community organizations has been key to the success we have already had in changing governmental policies and protecting our communities. When we were in the streets of Detroit protesting the water shutoffs of the poorest and most vulnerable. When we were front and center in the Chicago fight to challenge the massive open piles of coal dust in the poorer neighborhoods, causing the highest rates of asthma ever, we were able to win an ordinance requiring that companies enclose open piles, while continuing to push for an outright ban. These are just two of the many examples of nurses using their voice, credibility, and integrity to change this world for the better. Nurses are the most trusted profession and when we speak up, we bring a very different prospective to the process that is very hard for anyone to challenge. Karen: We need to work with others locally, nationally, and internationally to fight issues like environmental degradation and other community issues that effect us all emotionally, physically, and in many other ways. Q. What is your vision for the future of NNU? Martha: I want us to be the best organiza- tion of nurses united for our patients and for ourselves. Deborah: To bring the benefits of a collec- tive voice, and union representation for all nurses through NNU. To continue to link patient advocacy at the bedside to public advocacy for social change that protects our patients, our families, and our communities. To continue to build GNU, which has brought nurses together across the world working to protect public health services, improvements for nurses, and confront the harmful effects of public budget cuts, privati- zation, poverty, and climate change. Karen: That nurses continue to be THE VOICE FOR HEALTHCARE in this coun- try and around the world. Jean: We will have arrived when our opinion is asked for on anything to do with health. No more checking first with the ANA or AMA. After tough fight, Salinas Valley RNs win new contract Deal retains critical charge nurse positions (Continued from page 5) LOOKING FORWARD AND BACK

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