Bargaining (Page 16)

Stories we’re scanning:

HEALTH CARE

Health Cost Relief Only Temporary   If health care spending isn’t brought in line with overall economic growth, Americans will eventually face agonizing choices between paying medical bills and funding other priorities such as education and infrastructure.

NURSING

Kansas City Nurses Reaffirm Commitment to  NNU  A spokeswoman for the National Nurses Organizing Committee of National Nurses United said the vote this week was 260 to 92 in favor of the union.

LABOR

America Without A Union Movement?  When labor was at its numerical apogee in 1955, the wealthiest 10 percent claimed just 33 percent of the nation’s income.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, June 14, 2012: No unions = huge wage gap; Mich. nurses deliver big message to state  »

BREAKING:  Fairview CEO Out in Wake of Debt Collection Furor

HEALTH CARE

Art, Gardens & Basketball Courts -Yes.  Adequate Staff?  No Mention.   The striking new hospital buildings built by Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, and Lurie Children’s Hospital, in Chicago spare no funds to promise a luxurious patient experience.  Editor’s note:  The article curiouisly fails to discuss how much investment is put into providing enough professional staff.

How Rivals Built an ACO  The ultimate goal is to reduce healthcare costs and improve care by developing  and refining services that can be scaled and applied to the 300,000  HealthPartners and Allina customers who live in the alliance service area.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, May 24, 2012: Art, gardens & BB Courts, yes / Staffing? No mention  »

LABOR

Target Violated Labor Laws; NLRB Calls for New Union Election     An administrative law judge from the National Labor Relations Board has overturned the union election last year at a Target store on New York’s Long Island and ordered a new election citing unfair labor practices.

General Mills Cuts 850 Jobs    General Mills expects the plan to result in total pretax charges of about $109 million, which will cover costs related to workers whose jobs are terminated and equipment.

Barbara Ehrenreich:  A War on Poverty, Indeed    ;Individually, the poor are not all that tempting to thieves.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan – May 22, 2012: NLRB to Target “You Broke the Law;” Patients Not Good at Judging Care  »

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan is a round up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Labor

Crow Wing County RNs Expect Decision Today on Civil Lawsuit Regarding Unfair Labor Practices   The unions reported the lawsuit is not whether the county’s proposal to tie pay to performance is a good idea.  “The county’s idea, like all bargaining proposals, should be negotiated,” the unions stated. “The unions’ lawsuit simply asks the court to find that the county must first negotiate the elimination of the current pay structure and not act on its own.”

Twin Cities Hospital Workers Voting Whether to Strike   The workers hold a variety of jobs, including nursing assistants, ER techs and maintenance and food service personnel.
… Read more about: MNA Daily NewsScan, May 15, 2012 – Crow Wing RNs Await Results of Civil Law Suit; Nursing Careers and an Aging Population  »

SPEAK UP FOR OUR NURSING STANDARDS

The Minnesota Board of Nursing wants to significantly change the Nurse Practice Act to alter Scope of Practice language.

This is NOT a friendly change.

Their proposals reflect a corporate health care employer’s dream to muddy the lines of responsibility between RNs and LPNs – allowing health care facilities to get more work for less money.  It also pits our two practices in a fabricated fight that will only result in jeopardizing public safety.

For the sake of your license and the future of nursing, attend an upcoming “listening session” hosted by the Minnesota Board of Nursing. 
… Read more about: Update! Speak up to MN Board of Nursing About LPN Scope Expansion  »

Minnesota Nurses Association Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

Media Contact:                      Jan Rabbers  (612) 860-6658 or jan.rabbers@mnnurses.org

Mercy Hospital (Moose Lake) RNs Issue Concerns About Merger Negotiations

(Moose Lake, MN – February 8, 2012) As Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake moves toward a possible merger with Duluth-based Essentia Health, registered nurses represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association met last week to discuss concerns regarding impact on the community and on the work environment at the hospital.

The meeting highlighted the nurses’ apprehensions about the overall process of merger negotiations, especially noting the lack of advice and involvement of patient care providers, patients, and potential patients.
… Read more about: Moose Lake’s Mercy RNs Issue Concerns About Merger Negotiations  »