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.
Nurses know there is more to do to end short staffing and make sure the right number of nursing staff are scheduled or available to care for patients at one time to ensure safe, quality patient care. MNA is committed to keeping up the fight for safe staffing for as long as it takes, and more resources would help amplify our actions.
If members vote in favor of changing the dues structure to keep more resources locally, we would be able to invest more in safe staffing efforts and get closer to the day when short staffing is an exception, not the norm. This could include devoting resources to studies that show ratios lead to better patient outcomes, educating policymakers on how unsafe staffing hurts their constituents, and training and assistance for individual nurses to combat unsafe staffing levels in their hospitals.
You can support our endeavor to protect patients and ensure safe, quality care for all Minnesotans by voting “yes” to changing our dues structure while keeping dues the same.
Your MNA Board of Directors supports a “yes” vote!
A YES vote means that MNA could invest more locally while keeping dues the same.
A NO vote means maintaining the status quo.
You have until 11:59 p.m. on September 15 to submit an electronic request for an absentee ballot. Since the 15th is a weekend, we will accept paper requests delivered to our office by 4:30 p.m. on September 17 as well.
Visit www.mnnurses.org/dues or contact the MNA office for more information.
The deadline to sign up to be a delegate and attend MNA’s annual convention to help make organizational decisions is September 28.
Fill out the Consent to Serve as Delegate form and register for MNA Convention October 5-8!
Contact Jodi Lietzau to register.