Simplify MNA dues to keep our contracts strong (Page 36)

From the MNA Board of Directors

Nurses throughout Minnesota say the MNA contract that protects rights and gives members a voice in the workplace is a major benefit of membership.

Nurses recognize the value of holding management accountable when the contract is violated through grievances, arbitration, and Unfair Labor Practice charges.

Hospitals are increasingly pushing us to file grievances and ULPs to force us to spend more time and resources on these actions instead of mutually agreeing on solutions to our issues.

They know these legal actions are expensive and time-consuming, even though MNA has won some major decisions in the last few years.

The MNA Board of Directors is recommending that nurses vote in favor of a proposal to change our dues structure without increasing dues in order to provide more resources for these important contract enforcement initiatives.

You can expect hospitals to do whatever they can to force us to divert funds toward these legal expenses, hoping to drain our budget for critical functions like contract negotiations, safe staffing initiatives, organizing campaigns, and legislative activities.

MNA members can stand up to hospitals by supporting simplifying the dues structure without raising dues in the all-member ballot through October 8.

Please take a look at this video by RN Steve Strand from Essentia St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth on why he supports a yes vote.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot was September 15. For those with absentee ballots, you have until September 30 to submit them to the MNA Office in order to be considered valid for inclusion in the vote tabulation. As this date falls on a Sunday, absentee ballots received in the MNA office by Monday, October 1, at 4:30 p.m. will be accepted.

If you don’t vote by absentee ballot, you can vote in person during the MNA Convention and House of Delegates at the Radisson Blu in Minneapolis, 35 S 7th St. October 6-8:

  • Saturday, October 6: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Sunday, October 7: 7  a.m.- 5 p.m.
  • Monday, October 8: 7 a.m.-4 p.m.

MNA will reimburse for parking fees up to $10 if you vote in person.

A YES vote means that MNA could invest more locally while keeping dues the same. A NO vote means maintaining the same dues structure.

Visit MNA’s website for more information and voting times during Convention; or contact the MNA office for more information.

Results will be announced to members on October 10.

The deadline to sign up to be a delegate and attend MNA’s annual convention to help make organizational decisions is September 28 – today.

Fill out the Consent to Serve as delegate form and register for MNA Convention October 5-8!

Contact Jodi Lietzau at Jodi.Lietzau@mnnurses.org to register.

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From the MNA Board of Directors

Nurses throughout Minnesota say the MNA contract that protects rights and gives members a voice in the workplace is a major benefit of membership.

Nurses recognize the value of holding management accountable when the contract is violated through grievances, arbitration, and Unfair Labor Practice charges.

Hospitals are increasingly pushing us to file grievances and ULPs to force us to spend more time and resources on these actions instead of mutually agreeing on solutions to our issues.

They know these legal actions are expensive and time-consuming, even though MNA has won some major decisions in the last few years.
… Read more about: Simplify MNA dues to keep our contracts strong  »

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In: Education, Events, Home

By Candy Matzke, RN

Fairview Riverside, Minneapolis

Are you going to the MNA Convention and House of Delegates Oct. 5-8? Your Convention Planning Committee is excited to greet you and share all you need to know to have a wonderful, educational, empowering, getting-to-know-each-other time. MNA’s Convention overlaps with the National Nurses United (NNU) annual convention this year, giving us great opportunities to meet nurses from all over the U.S.

Delegates from Ely to Sandstone and in between will enjoy a three-and-a-half day journey starting with a reception courtesy of NNU on Friday, October 5. It’s always a treat for “newbies” to be welcomed and find a more seasoned delegate to buddy up with to take it all in: understanding the barriers to safe, adequate patient care; the logistics of the event; and how we work with our hospital systems, the Legislature, and each other.
… Read more about: MNA Convention is wonderful, educational, empowering opportunity  »

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In: Dues Vote, Home, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Yes to Invest

From the MNA Board of Directors:

 

Many MNA nurses say they would like to be more involved in organizing, contract, electoral, and legislative campaigns, but they don’t have the time or finances because they are working.

We know that nurse involvement is key to the success of these critical initiatives to strengthen the union and the nursing profession.  MNA could enable more members to get involved by investing in programs that provide paid time off for nurses who participate in some of these campaigns, relieving them of their economic constraints.

Many unions already run time-release programs with great success. 
… Read more about: Increased Resources Will Help Nurses Build Our Union  »

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In: Activism, Home

By Stephanie Kowalik, RN, Children’s Hospital Minneapolis

When Children’s Hospitals of St. Paul and Minneapolis suddenly announced last September that part-time nurses (between .40 and .74 FTE) would start paying a higher percentage of health insurance premiums than full-time nurses, we were stunned and confused. Up until that time, part-timers between .40 and .74 FTE paid the same premium cost as full-time nurses.

It was an obvious attempt to divide part-time and full-time nurses and a clear violation of our contract. The decision to unilaterally impose such an unfair requirement only weeks before open enrollment brought nurses together to fight the hospital.
… Read more about: A victory for all nurses  »

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From the MNA Board of Directors:

Safe staffing has been a top priority of MNA nurses for many years.

MNA nurses have fought for safe staffing levels at the bargaining table, in the Legislature, and with the public, with some successes.

However, short staffing remains a serious problem in Minnesota hospitals.

According to the MNA Concern for Safe Staffing Form annual report for 2017, an increasing number of nurses reported instances of short staffing. They reported that patients were harmed, or in the nurse’s professional opinion, patients did not receive the safe and quality care they required due to short staffing.
… Read more about: Vote to Invest in Safe Staffing  »

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In: Guns, Home, Member Blog, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety, Workplace violence prevention

 

 

By  Jean Forman, RN

Chair, Government Affairs Commission

and Diane McLaughlin, RN

Government Affairs Commissioner

 

(Editor’s Note:  The following is the recommendation of the members of the Government Affairs Commission on a proposal that has not been adopted by the MNA Board or Membership.)

 

The MNA Convention is coming up quickly, October 6-8 in Minneapolis. We have so much important work to accomplish! We are writing as elected members of the Commission on Governmental Affairs (GAC) to gain your support for an important addition to MNA’s legislative platform regarding gun violence prevention and protection.
… Read more about: Support Our Platform on Gun Safety  »

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In: Home, Press Releases, Uncategorized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Barb Brady
(office) 651-414-2849
(cell) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

Contact: Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

 

(St. Paul) –   September 6, 2018 – An arbitrator ruled on September 5 that Children’s Hospitals in Minneapolis and St. Paul violated MNA nurses’ contracts in 2017 by unilaterally requiring part-time nurses to pay high a higher percentage of health insurance premiums than full-time nurses.

“Nurses did not stand for Children’s blatant attempts to divide our membership on a critical issue like health insurance,” MNA President Mary C.
… Read more about: Press Release: MNA nurses win major arbitration decision over health insurance  »

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In: Elections, Home, Politics, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Barb Brady
(office) 651-414-2849
(cell) 651-202-0845
barbara.brady@mnnurses.org

Rick Fuentes
(office) 651-414-2863
(cell) 612-741-0662
rick.fuentes@mnnurses.org

(St. Paul) –   September 5, 2018 –  The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Nurses Association has voted to endorse Congressman Tim Walz in his bid to be Minnesota’s next Governor and Representative Peggy Flanagan as the next Lieutenant Governor.  Nurses based their decision on screening sessions before and after the primary that demonstrated Walz and Flanagan’s dedication to expanding access to healthcare for all Minnesotans and the protection of union rights for all workers.
… Read more about: Press Release: Nurses endorse Tim Walz for Governor and Peggy Flanagan for Lt. Governor  »

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In: Elections, Home

By Amanda Madison, RN, MNA Digital Political Organizer

MNA nurses believe that all people are connected through our shared humanity, and that we all deserve a healthy and prosperous life, no matter what we look like or where we come from. Our values are reflected in our vision of a better future:

  • A healthcare system that provides affordable and accessible care, including medical, mental, surgical, dental, preventative, long-term, and end-of-life care
  • Healthcare facilities that prioritize patient care above all else and are safe spaces for people to support one another as they work and heal
  • Employers who provide fair wages and benefits and give us the opportunity to spend time with our families, take care of ourselves and our loved ones, and live to our full potential.

    • … Read more about: Nurses Care. Nurses Vote.  »

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In: Member Blog, Minnesota Nurses Association, Unions

From the MNA Board of Directors:

The MNA Board of Directors is hopeful it can increase funding in the following areas if members approve the dues structure change. While we would have to still determine exact amounts, the Board is committed to using the extra funding in the following ways:

1. Increase resources that can be used towards achieving safe staffing
2. Additional funds to be dedicated to the strike fund
3. Expand member resources related to defense of nurse’s legal and contractual rights whether through an arbitration or
administrative process
4 Establish a member release time budget for nurses interested in helping build the union by participating in various union campaigns, including contract, organizing, legislative, and electoral, which would allow them to do so without being economically impacted
5.
… Read more about: Yes to Invest  »