Mankato Nurses Way Ahead in Organizing (Page 78)

Next time, they’ll rent a bigger room.  Maybe a movie theater.

More than 60 nurses from the Mayo Clinic Health System-Mankato showed up for trainings and organizing planning meetings to prepare for negotiations with management later this month.

Nurses showed up over two days to sign upwork with groups of 10 nurses to gather input and organize actions in the lead up to their upcoming contract negotiations through Member Action Teams (MAT).

MAT members will also be a voice of their colleagues upwards through the bargaining team so those at the table understand what’s most important for nurses in their next contract.   Nurses are driven by staffing shortages that threaten patient safety and continues to be a major issue.  Some have received more than five texts a day to pick up shifts.

“I go out and touch base with members, and they contact me,” said David Nachreiner, bargaining team chair,  “it’s an absolutely united group that’s bringing concerns to the meetings.  We all care about patient safety.”

Nurses mapped the entire hospital up floor-by-floor to ensure that no part of the bargaining unit would be left out of important bargaining news or events or would be susceptible to bad information from rumor or management misinformation.  They’ve also created a unit website that contains specific contract language and a link to email the entire bargaining unit with questions about their major issues.

“We want a safe work environment.  We want enough staff members to be able to do the job that has to be done, which is taking care of patients and to do it safely,” Nachreiner said.

They also made plans for events over the summer to show support for one another at the bargaining team during negotiations, including a family day at the Mankato Moon Dogs.  So far, six negotiating dates have been scheduled.

“We’re prepared to stand together,” Nachreiner said.