Labor Unions (Page 32)

On:
In: Labor Unions

So proud of our MNA State Nurses! Did you see this item from the Governor’s Office? Here’s the press release:

St. Paul, MN – Today the Minnesota State Employees Combined Charities Campaign presented their 2011 donations in support of Minnesota charities.  The donations, totaling $842,639.13, will benefit 39 charitable federations working in communities across the state to support vital health, education, arts, and social service programs. The campaign consists of 2,320 state employees that chose to donate a portion of their paycheck towards a charitable organization via payroll deduction.

Lt. Governor Prettner Solon, the honorary chairperson of the campaign, presented the ‘big check’ to ten federation representatives at an event this morning in the Governor’s reception room.
… Read more about: MNA State RNs = Generosity, Service  »

On:
In: Activism, Bargaining, Labor Unions

UNITE HERE Local 17 has been in contract negotiations with The Saint Paul Hotel since November 2011. The Hotel has hired a Union busting attorney, John Hauge, and is proposing to take away daily overtime, have workers contribute to their Health Insurance, and impose a 2 tiered wage system, reducing wages by as much as $5.00 per hour, undercutting ALL other Hotel contracts in the Twin Cities Area and lowering the standards of the Hospitality Industry. This is the same Hotel that once wanted to “pay the highest wages and attract the best workers”. The Saint Paul Hotel is a 4 Diamond property and was recently named as the best Hotel in Minnesota.
… Read more about: Please Support our Union brothers and sisters in St. Paul on Feb. 16th!  »

On:
In: Bargaining, Labor Unions, Nurses, Nursing

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  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Nurses, Politics

Have you or a family member ever had the unfortunate experience of suffering from a pressure ulcer? In addition to being extremely unpleasant and painful, pressure ulcers can become so deep that they result in damage to your muscles, bones, tendons and joints.

And pressure ulcers – also commonly known as bedsores – are almost always preventable when proper staffing levels are adhered to.

Yet last week’s release of Minnesota’s Eighth Annual Adverse Events Report noted that incidents involving pressure ulcers spiked more than 19 percent statewide in 2011. What state hospital executives didn’t mention in spinning away that alarming statistic was that numerous national studies have shown a direct correlation between inadequate nurse staffing levels and an increase in conditions including pressure ulcers, pneumonia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock/cardiac arrest, urinary tract infections and more.
… Read more about: MNA President Linda Hamilton’s Response to Minnesota Adverse Events Report’s Release  »

On:
In: Labor Unions

From the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation: The Winter Carnival is almost here … Come march with us in the King Boreas Grande Day Parade!

We will be gathering at the Labor and Professional Centre in the Main Labor Hall at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday January 28, 2012. We will leave together to line up for the parade which begins at 2:00 p.m.

Our marching unit is co-sponsored by the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation’s AFL-CIO Community Services program and Greater Twin Cities United Way.

If you would like to participate, please call Kelsey Eide at (651) 222-3787 ext.
… Read more about: Winter Carnival Invitation from St. Paul RLF  »

On:
In: Activism, Labor Unions, Politics

Media Contact: Charles Idelson, 510-273-2246 or Carl Ginsburg, 917-405-1060. For Profs. Pollin or Heintz, contact Debbie Zeidenberg, at PERI, dzeiden@peri.umass.edu or 413.577.3147

From National Nurses United:

A robust tax on Wall Street transactions would raise far more revenue – as much as 17 times as much – than more limited proposals, even accounting for the worst case scenarios of reduced trading as a result of a tax.  That’s the findings of an important new research brief from prominent University of Massachusetts Amherst economists Robert Pollin and James Heintz.

This study is the most recent serious effort to quantify current, actual costs and evaluate the impact of the trading costs on trading volume.
… Read more about: Press Release: New Study Shows Dramatic Revenue Potential from a Wall Street Tax  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Politics

Imagine how drastically your nursing practice would change for the worse if your patients’ caregivers or family members were allowed to give them medications in the hospital? That is just one of many recent changes proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid as conditions of participation.

On:
In: Activism, Labor Unions, Organizing

MNA President Linda Hamilton was honored this week, winning the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation’s 2011 Labor Leader Award. The award is “in appreciation of tireless efforts and experienced leadership that has greatly benefitted the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation.” It is the first year the award has been given out.

“Everyone in this room knows the success the nurses have had in raising the public’s awareness of the need to address unsafe staffing levels in our hospitals,” said SPRLF President Bobby Kasper. “The MNA made safe staffing a focus of their contract campaign two years ago, and they continue to fight for their members at the Capitol, where everybody knows the MNA means business! 
… Read more about: MNA President Linda Hamilton Wins “2011 Labor Leader Award”  »