Today was our seventh bargaining meeting with management of St. Luke’s hospital. In our meeting today it was made totally clear and the statement was made from management, “The buck stops here.” It stops with management. They did not want to give the rights in our contract that the board of nursing says we already have. We need the ability to say no to an unsafe assignment and if there are no nurses to take an admission safely, for the right in our contract to temporarily close the unit to admissions. We made it clear to management of our needs in our contract for safe patient care.
Pam Hyopponen, RN at the Birthing Center, says: “I just don’t think they get it. They believe the bottom line is management and the buck stops with them. Nurses provide the care and we are the bottom line.”
We absolutely have to be united to get what we need in our contract this time around. Sign up for informational picketing at St. Luke’s from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 3rd.
Sign up your fellow nurses on the floor you work on. We need to show management we are absolutely united and serious!