Bargaining (Page 11)

NOTES ON NURSING

Simple Measures Reduce Infections Caught in Hospitals   Solutions included having patients shower with special germ-fighting soap before surgery, and having surgery teams change gowns, gloves and instruments during operations to prevent spreading germs picked up during the procedures.

MNA Day, December 6 – As our bargaining team negotiates, let’s show employers how serious nurses are about our profession, our patients and our communities.

Worchester Nurses Forced to Choose Between Flu Shot and Mask   A new hospital flu shot policy is causing controversy among the nursing
staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 30, 2012: MNA Day; Flu shot or mask  »

Education, Solidarity, Networking, Community

As MNA’s bargaining team negotiates with Twin Cities contract hospital employers, let’s show how serious nurses are about our profession, our patients and our communities.  Enjoy a day together with colleagues to send a message of solidarity, while honing our advocacy skills.

Free Continuing Education (Drop in for all or any of these classes)
Nursing Contact Hours
These programs for 1.2 contact hours each have been designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing continuing education requirements. However, the nurse is responsible for determining whether this activity meets the requirements for acceptable continuing education.
… Read more about: Dec. 6 is MNA Day – features education and a toy/food shelf drive  »

NOTES ON NURSING


Natick (MA) Nurses Want More Staff   Mancuso, a Milford resident, said nurses have to pick up some duties of  personal care assistants, and also handle post-operative care that may pull them  away from their regular rounds.”Overall we’re taking on more hats and not getting any help,” she said.

Strike is On at 10 Northern California Hospitals   This is the latest protest over demands by Sutter corporate officials for sweeping reductions in patient care protections and nurses’ contract standards – despite Sutter being one of the wealthiest hospital chains in the U.S.

LABOR UPDATES

Be Wary of the “Fix the Debt” Coalition    Fix the Debt, the unserious coalition of CEOs and corporations who are lobbying to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid while increasing tax breaks for their companies to send jobs overseas, have spent nearly $1 billion in lobbying and campaign contributions during the past four years, according to a new Public Campaign study.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 20, 2012: Sutter profits-patients suffer; Vets unaware of benefits due them  »

LABOR NOTES

Tax Fairness Rally   WHEN: Monday, November 12th at 11:00am – Noon
WHERE: S 8th Street and Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.

Twilight for Twinkies?  Striking workers formed a picket line at the company’s Sacramento, Calif., plant Sunday, two days after the walkout began when the company imposed a contract that would cut wages by 8 percent.

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurses in Short Supply for Veterans   Samiley’s specialty at the VA’s primary care clinic is homeless veterans. Most of his patients served in the Vietnam War and come with diabetes or hypertension as well as mental health needs.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 12, 2012: Nurses in short supply for Vets; Twilight for Twinkies?  »

NOTES ON NURSING

Rep. Erin Murphy Is New House Majority Leader   House Democrats have elected former MNA Executive Director, Erin Murphy as House Majority Leader.

Hurricane Sandy Update   Aid to victims of hurricane Sandy is still very much needed.  The AFL-CIO is coordinating with United Way to raise funds to help families devastated by the disaster.  Here’s the link to help.

LABOR NEWS

NY Subway Repairs Border on “the Edge of Magic”    Workers traversed darkened, slippery tunnels, inspecting sludgy tracks, equipment and third rails. Even the subway map itself was reimagined, as bright lines were faded to represent downed service.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, November 9, 2012: Congrats Rep. Erin Murphy  »

[youtube=http://youtu.be/YWRsu6TN2gg]

 

Dressed as mindless zombies, nurses took to Main Street in Bagley on Halloween to call attention to Sanford hospital management proposals that they said are “scary” when it comes to protecting patient safety.

“In an unprecedented move, Sanford management came in and threw out a union contract that had been in place for decades,” said Rachel Lewis, an LPN at Sanford Bagley Medical Center. “This contract existed for a reason – it kept our patients safe and gave nurses a voice in the workplace. Our nurses are also being forced to work 14-to-16 hour shifts at times because management isn’t providing us with the ancillary staff needed for non-patient care duties.”

Represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, a group of 30 Bagley LPNs and RNs have been bargaining with Sanford officials since April 2012 regarding a new labor contract.
… Read more about: Video Recap: Bagley Nurses Halloween Action  »


Paul and Sheila Wellstone
1944 – 2002″Politics is about what we create by what we do, what we hope for, and what we dare to imagine.”

NOTES ON NURSING

Nurses Show Solidarity in Opposition to Allina Proposed Uniform Policy    MNA members ”Got the Red Out” this morning at an Arbitration meeting to show MNA solidarity against the uniform policy Allina is attempting to force on nurses.

LABOR

Jobless Claims Fall; Give Clearer Sign of Health    The four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smoothes out such volatility, rose 1,500 to a 368,000.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 25, 2012: Allina action; Jobless claims down  »

Oct. 25, 2012

MNA members “Got the Red Out” this morning at an Arbitration meeting to show MNA solidarity against the uniform policy Allina is attempting to force on nurses. Allina implemented the uniform policy without bargaining with the union.  This unilateral implementation is a glaring disregard for the obligation and respect to bargaining over mandatory subjects impacting nurses working conditions. Members stood together to greet the employer and the arbitrator to show them the power, support for one another and unity. Nurses from Allina system throughout the state as well as other MNA nurses came today.  Message to Allina:  You take on one MNA member; you take on ALL MNA members.
… Read more about: MNA Members In Solidarity to Oppose Allina Uniform Policy  »

HEALTH CARE

“Substantial” Variation from State to State in Hospital Safety Records    The rankings are based on an analysis of data released annually by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and look at how approximately 4,500 hospitals nationwide performed on risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates for nearly 30 of the most common conditions and procedures.

U.S. Health Care Costs Comparison Doesn’t Add Up   How much is good health care worth to you? $8,233 per year? That’s how much the U.S. spends per person.  Worth it?

LABOR NEWS

Another Blow to Scott Walker’s Attempts to Strip Collective Bargaining Unit Laws  Attorney General J.B.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, October 23, 2012: Take a sick day – you’re fired; Kennedy trial begins  »