MNA Legislative Update, March 14, 2014 (Page 69)

MNA-with-Sen.-BakkNurses Day on the Hill 2014

Nurses had a great and productive day on March 11 visiting the Capitol and their respective representatives and senators.  Hundreds of nurses came out to educate lawmakers and without a specific bill to push in this short session, representatives and senators were happy just to have an education where they could learn about healthcare policy and the practice of nursing.  Nurses brought many issues to lawmakers’ attention for the first time, which they said they appreciated.  See below.

Health Care Professionals and Monitoring

There are now two bills moving through the Minnesota legislature.  SF 1890 passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week and is now headed for a committee hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee next Tuesday at noon.  This is the bill MNA expressed some concerns about, including its automatic suspension of licenses and disclosure of confidential information about discharged nurses to the Board of Nursing.

HF 1898, however, passed the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday night and is now headed for a date with the House State Government Finance Committee.  This bill got a few amendments, which strengthened the bill’s abilities to monitor licensees and protect patient safety.  In the House version, a licensee will be suspended only if the person poses an “imminent” risk to patients; licensees will be barred from practicing for 10 years if they’ve been convicted of a felony level criminal sexual conduct crime; and licensing boards will be required to educate licensees about the HPSP options.

Synthetic Drugs

Duluth Representative Erik Simonson’s bill to outlaw synthetic drugs and reduce the devastating effects these substances are having on patients is moving fast.  The bill also passed the House and Human Services Committee and could be headed to the House floor very soon.

Minimum Wage

The push to raise the minimum wage to a living wage in Minnesota continues to be stalled.  While legislators in the House and Senate agree with MNA that the wage should go up to $9.50/hour, the sticking point now is indexing.  Senators are saying they don’t have enough support yet to pass the bill if the wage goes up in relation to inflation.  Nurses have sent dozens of emails and letters to their state representatives and senator, and they’re being noticed.  Keep the effort going to allow everyone in Minnesota to earn a livable wage that promotes a healthy lifestyle.  Need some inspiration?  Check out President Hamilton’s speech to supporters here:  link.

 

E-Cigs

A bill to regulate e-cigarettes just as the state classifies other smoking tools is moving through the Capitol.  MNA has written to lawmakers with concerns that the marketing of “e-cigs” is aimed predominantly to children.  HF 1931 extends tobacco regulation to e-cigarettes, specifically prohibiting them in schools and preventing the marketing and selling of e-cigs to minors.

 

Flu Vaccine

State representatives and senators were surprised to hear about the introduction of a bill to require all healthcare workers to receive a flu vaccination each year.  The measure struck a chord of overreach on personal freedoms to them, and nurses informed lawmakers that a mandatory flu shot actually could reduce flu fighting efforts.  Studies show a comprehensive approach to battling the spread of the influenza virus works best, including other measures such as handwashing, regular germ-killing cleaners, and allowing workers to stay home when they’re sick.  A mandatory flu shot would not be the silver bullet that combats the spread of the flu.

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Politics

MNA-with-Sen.-BakkNurses Day on the Hill 2014

Nurses had a great and productive day on March 11 visiting the Capitol and their respective representatives and senators.  Hundreds of nurses came out to educate lawmakers and without a specific bill to push in this short session, representatives and senators were happy just to have an education where they could learn about healthcare policy and the practice of nursing.  Nurses brought many issues to lawmakers’ attention for the first time, which they said they appreciated.  See below.

Health Care Professionals and Monitoring

There are now two bills moving through the Minnesota legislature.  SF 1890 passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week and is now headed for a committee hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee next Tuesday at noon. 
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, March 14, 2014  »

On:
In: Activism, Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Organizing

Sandstone SignThey are a gritty bunch in this rural northern Minnesota hospital. The 25 nurses of Essentia Health – Sandstone ran a vigorous organizing campaign and successfully won MNA representation in Dec., 2012. Since then, first-time contract negotiations have tested endurance and patience. Now, after 11 months and 22 sessions, the new MNA unit is fortifying its resolve even more over a management proposal to include a Management Rights clause.

The insidious paragraph is so vague, it creates a management perception that wholesale changes can be made on a whim. “We can’t possibly think of everything that might come up during the term of the contract and this language would allow them to think they could arbitrarily change something, and we’d have no chance to bargain,” said MNA nurse negotiator Tara Mach.
… Read more about: Sandstone Nurses Stand Strong Against Management’s Rights Clause  »

On:
In: Activism, Bargaining, Hospitals, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Organizing, Sanford

Bemidji-soupBemidji nurses served up chicken soup Sun., Mar. 9 in front of the town’s iconic Paul Bunyan statue to highlight the dangers of a sick policy imposed by Sanford Bemidji Hospital management.

Nurses face discipline if they use more than three sick days in a row or 40 hours of sick time within a year.  The “sick in” helped warn  community members that the attendance policy could force nurses to be compromised when giving care.  If nurses must work while sick, it could impact recovery if one is hospitalized.

The nurses served chicken noodle soup to all nurses and residents who come by. 
… Read more about: Bemidji Nurses Say Sanford Sick Policy is a Bad Remedy  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses

Legislative hearingHealth Care Professionals and Monitoring

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services amended and passed SF 1890 Wednesday afternoon, which would give the Minnesota Board of Nursing (BoN) more information about health care professionals who are eligible for the Health Professionals Service Program. (To enhance public safety in health care, HPSP monitors health professionals with illnesses as an alternative or adjunct to discipline.) MNA has several concerns about the bill, including that it would give the BoN much greater access to very sensitive personal information about nurses, and take a punitive, rather than chronic disease management, approach to substance abuse issues.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, March 7, 2014  »

On:
In: Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Patient Safety, Politics

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services passed SF 1890 Wednesday afternoon, which would give the Board of Nursing (BoN) more information about health care professionals who are eligible for the Health Professionals Service Program (HPSP) for treatment.

MNA testified and sent a letter to committee members about the bill and concerns with three elements of the bill.  Specifically, the bill still contains measures that could result in a chilling effect on those who self-report to HPSP.

Senators Tony Lourey, John Marty, and Chris Eaton agreed that addiction is a disease, and nurses shouldn’t be disciplined for voluntarily seeking treatment. 
… Read more about: Senate HHS Committee Considers Board of Nursing/HPSP legislation  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Minimum Wage, Nurses

Linda-Hamilton_1MNA President Linda Hamilton, RN, BSN joined health experts on Monday to highlight the impact of low-wage work on community health.  The press conference also included Commissioner of Health Dr. Edward Ehlinger, Representative Tina Liebling and ISAIAH President Rev. Paul Slack and called for a wider discussion around ending poverty wages in Minnesota.

Although wages and health are rarely talked about together, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) drew the links. MDH released a report on Monday providing research to back up the claim that increases in income are associated with positive health outcomes.

The report  states that people with higher income are more likely to live longer and healthier lives than those with lower income levels, and recommends policies aimed at increasing income for groups with the lowest income.
… Read more about: Wages are a Health Issue  »

On:
In: Activism, Healthcare, Hospitals, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing, Politics

P1030876Budget Surplus

Today’s economic forecast showed the state has a budget surplus of $1.23 billion, due to better-than-projected revenue collections and lower spending. This news is a welcome change from past years of structural deficits, budget gimmicks and program cuts. This shows that Minnesota is on strong economic footing and the budget reforms made last session worked. Because the budget has been improving, the state has already paid off the entire “school shift” ($2.8 billion borrowed from public schools to shrink the 2011 budget deficit) so the $1.23 billion surplus is not obligated to be spent on any specific program.
… Read more about: MNA Legislative Update, February 28, 2014  »

On:
In: Activism, Affordable Care Act, Health Care Reform, Healthcare, Labor Unions, Legislative Policy, Minimum Wage, Minnesota Nurses Association, Nurses, Nursing

Minnesota State Capitol St Paul MinnesotaThe Minnesota legislative session starts today, Tuesday, February 25, and we have a lot of work to do to protect the practice of nursing, promote patient safety and advance the health of our community.

Minimum Wage Rally: Tuesday, February 25, 4:00 pm at the Capitol in St. Paul We will kick the session off with hundreds of allies at a rally in support of raising the Minimum Wage. Raising the wage to at least $9.50 and indexing it to inflation will raise thousands of families out of poverty and stimulate our economy. No one who works full time should live in poverty and have to choose between food for their family or gas for their car.  
… Read more about: Nurse Voices at the Capitol Help Patients  »

On:
In: Politics

According to the summary of a report by the Center on Women and Public Policy and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota says that “at the current rate, the pay gap in Minnesota will not be closed until 2060.”  That’s right.  Men will still make more than women for the same job and the same work 140 years after Womens Suffrage, almost 90 years after a human landed on the moon, and about the same time Hailey’s Comet returns in its next 76-year-orbit.

As women succeed, the state succeeds.   How to accomplish that is spurred by the Womens Security Act-a legislative package of 17 ideas that are being championed by Rep.
… Read more about: Poverty has a Woman's Face  »

On:
In: Activism, Bargaining, Healthcare, Hospitals, Labor Unions, Minnesota Nurses Association, National Nurses United, Nurses, Nursing, Organizing

(St. Paul, MN – Feb. 14, 2014)    32 registered nurses at Abbott Northwestern Westhealth Emergency Department and Urgent Care on Thursday overwhelmingly voted for a voice at work through contract representation by the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA). In a secret ballot election, conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, nurses voted by 92% to join MNA.

Many of the nurses at the new stand-alone emergency/urgent care unit located in the Twin Cities suburb of Plymouth have worked at other MNA contract facilities  and were eager for the same opportunity to have a voice in their workplace to be able to advocate for themselves and their patients. 
… Read more about: Nurses at Abbott Northwestern-Westhealth Vote for Union Representation with Minnesota Nurses Association  »