7 minute read
Nurses say ‘yes to invest’
minnesota nursing accent
Power in numbers! Pipestone nurses speak up and build community support around facility concerns
By Lisa Sneller, RN
On August 28, we did something unprecedented. Pipestone County Medical Center (PCMC) nurses unified and took a stand against our hospital’s CEO by presenting at the Pipestone County Board of Commissioners meeting. Nearly 20 of us showed up and spoke out, with Lacey Thomson, RN, representing all of us in her testimony. Some of the items we brought to the Commissioners’ attention included: the lack of communication by the hospital administration to staff and patients surrounding Dr. Scott’s termination, the difficulty applicants are having when applying for vacant positions, the continual short staffing and ‘do more with less’ attitude, and the overall unhealthy culture inside of PCMC. The community response has been nothing short of fantastic! They showed up and spoke out too. They also hit social media and have been buzzing about their experiences at PCMC. The consistent message is that the frontline care is great, but the overall general operation of the facility is difficult and messy. Examples range from calling in to schedule an appointment to showing up and being sent to the ER and of course, showing up to OB/Gyn and not seeing the provider that they were scheduled to see. Next, we will plan ways to stay in the forefront of the Commissioners’ minds. We will continue to go to County Board meetings and hospital board meetings. We will stay present on social media. And we will continue to talk because, even in this technology-savvy world, good old conversation still works!
It’s time to demand from page 3 assurance body. MNA staff will assist with this step to provide the greatest protection afforded to you as a union nurse. Elected officials who are responsible to write and enforce laws which protect their constituents, and their communities, can work with you to make necessary changes. Your patients, your communities and your families are counting on you to do what’s necessary to care for yourself and one another to survive the severity of this decompensating system you work in every day. Share your stories and experiences with one another and your communities. And most importantly, stand together by participating in actions, signing petitions, walking the picket line, and getting involved in contract negotiations. Be ready for the fights ahead and prepare for what’s to come, and believe in the power and strength that comes from collective action. “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” Frederick Douglass Nurses, it’s time to demand.
minnesota nursing accent
Bargaining and collective action update
COLLECTIVE ACTION
Hennepin Health Forensic nurses join the MNA union family
Pediatric Nurses Picket Children’s Hospitals Over Patient Care Concerns
About a year and a half ago, Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) nurses in the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program at Hennepin Health (HHS) had an initial conversation with MNA, expressing frustration regarding their program and their feelings of not having a voice in their workplace. All four current FTE nurses (including three forensic examiners and one forensic program coordinator) signed applications for MNA membership. After the nurses signed applications, the Hennepin Health Board of Directors, as well as the Hennepin County Board, passed resolutions in support of organizing neutrality and card check agreements. The unit chairs, new nurses, and MNA Labor Relations Specialist (LRS) John Ewaldt began the process of negotiating these nurses into the unit. Many of their programs’ practices were not aligned with the existing collective bargaining agreement, but after eight months of negotiating, nurses achieved a tentative agreement and signed the memoranda of agreement effective July 4, 2021. These nurses all received wage increases, will get double time for shifts over 12 hours, and will benefit from many additional protections of our collective bargaining agreement. As of early July, the nurses and their MNA LRS already requested their first official meet and confer with the employer, giving the forensic nurses an opportunity to address their concerns with the employer and to share ideas on how to improve the program. HHS is MNA’s biggest public and right-to-work facility. Nurses are winning!
MNA nurses picketed outside of Children’s Hospitals Minneapolis and Saint Paul campuses on June 8 to fight for adequate staffing and enough beds for pediatric patients. Prior to filing notice for the picket, MNA nurses had been meeting with Children’s management over several months since the corporation launched a downsizing of its Saint Paul hospital and a redesign for the Minneapolis campus. Since then, nurses at both hospitals have been let go and some services have been shifted to Minneapolis. The situation has left both hospital campuses critically short-staffed and without enough beds to admit patients. “Children’s is taking away services from the sickest kids served in the Saint Paul hospital while placing more of a burden on the already strapped resources of the Minneapolis campus,” said Tricia Ryshkus, Registered Nurse at Children’s Minneapolis. “And now what’s happening is kids are waiting for care and it’s increasing health inequities for all of these kids.” Hundreds of nurses walked the picket lines outside both Children’s hospital campuses, asking for safe staffing and for a voice in decisions that affect the quality of care provided to their patients. “The kids are sicker and need more care,” said Sydney Pederson, RN at Children’s Saint Paul. “Our patients need access to the care they need when they need it, regardless of where they live.” Minnesota State Senator Erin Murphy, RN (DFL-Saint Paul) showed up to the Saint Paul Children’s Hospital picket line in support of the nurses. “[Nurses] are learning more about the hospital’s plans to restructure care in this facility. They’re learning that beds are closing and services are moving over to the hospital in Minneapolis,” she shared, “[They] don’t have a voice in this change and they’re concerned about what it means for the well-being of their patients and the care that they’re provided. I’m standing here with the nurses today because I trust them, I trust what they know about providing care for patients, especially for our kids.” Alongthepicketline,nurseshung40setsofhospitalscrubs, representing the nurses who were laid off or furloughed in the last year. Nurses also placed photos of 26 empty hospitals beds along the sidewalk to represent the hospital’s lost capacity for serving patients in the Saint Paul community.
minnesota nursing accent
Heroes to Zeroes: WestHealth nurses leaflet and picket over contract
Nurses held an informational picket outside of Allina’s WestHealth campus in Plymouth, Minnesota, on Tuesday, August 3. MNA nurses entered into negotiations in good faith and have been negotiating a new contract with Allina for months, but Allina management has refused to provide the benefits nurses proposed to settle the labor contract. WestHealth nurses are asking for wages and benefits that keep up with the rising cost of living, respect their work, and encourage the recruitment of new nurses, which the hospital needs. Instead of choosing to honor nurses for their dedication through the COVID-19 crisis and ensure that they can recruit and retain nurses, Allina has chosen to say no to these benefit proposals and has offered zero counter proposals for three negotiation sessions. WestHealth nurses distributed more than 400 leaflets to the public in early July to inform the community of Allina’s refusal to negotiate a fair contract regarding the nurses’ terms and conditions of employment. Sonya Worner, a Registered Nurse at WestHealth said, “WestHealth nursing staff stayed the course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in its wake, Allina is refusing to make the necessary movement toward a fair contract. Allina admitted that it is not because they don’t have the money to fund the minor benefit increases we are asking for, but stated that our contract is ‘good enough.’ The public has treated us as heroes. Allina Health is now treating us as zeroes.”
DID YOU KNOW?
A Concern for Safe Staffing Form:
DOCUMENTS UNSAFE STAFFING
Including the numbers of nurses, number of support staff, skill mix and training of staff. CFSS forms also track management’s response to your notice saying staffing is unsafe.
TRACKS AND IDENTIFIES TRENDS
In threats to patient safety that RNs have reported as a result of unsafe staffing situations.
ISOLATES / DETECTS TRENDS
CFSS forms identify trends for you and your local union leadership to use when negotiating or discussing unsafe staffing with hospital management.
DOCUMENTS YOUR ACTIONS
CFSS forms record the actions you took to advocate for your patient(s) and can be used at a later date as documentation to defend you, should a negative outcome occur.
Concern for Safe Staffing forms can be submitted at any time.
Remember—the sooner a CFSS form is submitted, the more useful it can be. Read more & view the form mnnurses.org/concern-for-safe-staffing
