Today was our seventh bargaining session with management of SMDC.
We were able to share specifics with how safe staffing affects us and our patients. Management responded in full to all of our proposals other than economic. Their answer to pretty much everything we proposed was “No” or “We are not interested.”
Duluth RNs: Now is our time to get the same staffing language Twin City nurses have that helps them directly to advocate best for patients.
One of our proposals would require management to pay for 15-minute breaks when we are unable to take them. If no nurse took 15-minute breaks that we are supposed to get, it would save the hospital $3,259,815 – the equivalent of 43 FTE’s. And if we never take a break we are giving the hospital $4,745 per year at an FTE. This is a lot of money we are losing and/or saving the hospital. The hospital’s response was that we need to take our breaks. In order to do that we need to have enough nurses to be able to take our breaks!
Our work so far to show management how serious and united we are is working. Today management announced they would be hiring 6.8 FTE’s for the ICU float pool. This is a direct response to our efforts letting management know what is happening to nurses and our patients due to our short staffing situation. They are starting to pay attention – yet it means nothing until we get staffing addressed in our legally binding union contract. Nurses in the metro have grid and/or matrix review, temporary unit closure to admissions and more that helps them advocate for their patients. We need it in Duluth as well!
“In the newborn NICU we take care of the most fragile patients in the entire hospital that have their whole life in front of them. Adequate staffing allows us to do what we need to do to provide the care for these babies. A 10-minute episode can affect that child for the rest of his or her life.” – Terry Bronniche, Bargaining team, NICU St. Mary’s hospital.