Bargaining (Page 10)

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Next time, they’ll rent a bigger room.  Maybe a movie theater.

More than 60 nurses from the Mayo Clinic Health System-Mankato showed up for trainings and organizing planning meetings to prepare for negotiations with management later this month.

Nurses showed up over two days to sign upwork with groups of 10 nurses to gather input and organize actions in the lead up to their upcoming contract negotiations through Member Action Teams (MAT).

MAT members will also be a voice of their colleagues upwards through the bargaining team so those at the table understand what’s most important for nurses in their next contract.   
… Read more about: Mankato Nurses Way Ahead in Organizing  »

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The bargaining team for HealthEast’s Home Care nurses got a boost from MNA’s E & GW Commissioners who joined them at the table on Wednesday.  The Commissioners came to show the 68-member bargaining unit and management that MNA’s 20,000 members are standing with them in their fight to achieve a first contract.

After observing negotiations over this one particular morning, it became apparent to commissioners that HealthEast administrators are playing games in the talks and hiding behind their attorney to avoid working out a fair contract.  Jennifer Michelson, chair of the E & GW Commission, said administration is disrespecting HealthEast Home Care nurses by refusing to agree to basic provisions that are part of every union contract.
… Read more about: HealthEast Home Care nurses get support in quest for contract  »

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St. Luke’s nurses approved a new contract they won after coming to a one-day, wage-only focused negotiations showing they were ready to bargain together after three years of strong member engagement.   The strength of the nurses was apparent even at breakfast.

A hearty “Good morning!” was echoed more than 150 times as Duluth nurses turned out in force in the early morning to welcome St. Luke’s Hospital negotiators to the bargaining table.  They saw nurses from St. Luke’s and from competitor Essentia St. Mary’s as well as their friends, families, fellow union members, and even kids in an impressive display of red filling the hotel hallways. 
… Read more about: Show of Strength in Duluth Wins Nurses New Contract  »

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NOTES ON NURSING
Tentative Agreement for St. Lukes Nurses in Duluth   The Minnesota Nurses Association announced late Tuesday that Duluth nurses came to a tentative contract agreement with St. Luke’s hospital that would raise wages 4.5 percent. The three-year agreement would go into effect in July and run into June 2016.  View pictures of the great solidarity action  and a video of MNA’s powerful opening statement

Alarm Fatigue Puts Patients at Risk    The Joint Commission issued a “sentinel event alert” to hospitals, saying that the problem of “alarm fatigue” can jeopardize patients, and it urged hospitals “to take a focused look at this serious patient safety issue.’”  Watch MNA President Linda Hamilton’s interview on Fox 9 News.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 10, 2013: Tentative agreement for Duluth RNs; Alarm fatigue puts patients at risk  »

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Incredible show of solidarity as 150 nurses, family members, and fellow union members greet the St. Luke’s bargaining team prior to negotiations. Then, an emotional message from about the importance to respect nurses by offering them a fair offer for their continued hard work under short-staffed situations.
… Read more about: Support and solidarity for Duluth nurses prior to contract talks  »

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LABOR UPDATES

Harry Kelber:   1914 – 2013     Harry Kelber spent 80 years as a labor activist. Through it all he championed worker ownership of their unions. When Labor Notes commissioned a roundtable on “organizing the unorganized” in 2007, Harry’s contribution argued that rank-and-file workers should be part of organizing drives.

HEALTH CARE 

Did Hospitals Profit Off Drugs Meant for the Poor?   An inquiry by a U.S. senator has found that three nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina have made millions from a discount drug program intended to help the poor and uninsured.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, April 3, 2013: RIP Harry Kelber; CAH Mortality Skyrockets  »

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NOTES ON NURSING

Study:  Management Not in Tune with Quality Improvement   It appears that while hospital management asserts that patient-centred care is important and invests in patient satisfaction and patient experience surveys, our findings suggest that the majority do not have a structured plan for promoting improvement of patient satisfaction and engaging clinicians in the process.

HEALTH CARE

Kids, Seniors Prone to MRSA Infections Depending on Season   Children have a greater risk for infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in summer while seniors have a greater risk in winter, according to the study published online Feb.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, March 4, 2013: Chasm between boardroom and bedside; MRSA quirks  »

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In: Bargaining, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Patient Safety, Unsafe Staffing

HEALTH CARE

New Ulm Wellness Project Shows Healthy Results    New figures from the project show that the share of New Ulm residents with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high triglycerides has gone down — modestly but measurably. Rates of obesity have also stabilized, alongside a small weight decrease across the population.

No One Fix to Slow Hospital Readmission Epidemic    Nearly 1 in 5 Medicare patients is hospitalized again within a month of going home, and many of those return trips could have been avoided. But readmissions can happen at any age, not just with the over-65 crowd who are counted most closely.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, February 11, 2013: Hope for health in New Ulm; Strike authorized for TC janitors/guards  »

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In: Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nurses Strike, Nursing

NOTES ON NURSING

Twin Cities Nurses Ratify Contract   Although negotiations between nurses and hospitals in 2010 featured a loud
public debate over nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, the parties didn’t debate
the issue this time.

HEALTH CARE

In Their Own Words:  Health Care Industry Leader:  “Hospital Care 3,000 Times Less Safe Than Air Travel”    “The  Harvard Medical Practice Study (of 1991) showed that 1% of hospital patients  were injured due to errors judged… to be negligent. That’s a death or injury  rate of 10,000 per million. The U.S. airline comparative number is 341 people  dead or injured in 95.2 million flights, U.S.
… Read more about: MNA NewsScan, December 21, 2012: TC nurses approve 3 yr contract; Hospital care 3k less safe than air travel  »

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Twin Cities Nurses Ratify Three-Year Contract

For Immediate Release: December 20, 2012

Contact: Rick Fuentes: 651-414-2863/cell: 612-741-0662
Jan Rabbers: 651-414-2861/cell: 612-860-6658

(St. Paul) – Twin Cities nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association ratified its contract today with health care systems represented by the Minnesota Hospitals Association.   The three-year agreement is effective June 1, 2013  – May 31, 2016 and impacts 12,000 nurses working in 13 different facilities in the metro area.

Nurses have agreed to a contract that will increase wages by 4.5% over three years     “When they approached us, we saw a great opportunity for an efficient process that would be good for our communities and our patients,” said MNAPresident, Linda Hamilton.
… Read more about: MNA Twin Cities Contract is Ratified  »