Membership to vote on Management's proposal; Union urges "No"

On Thursday, March 20, management gave the union a “final” offer, a common tactic to pressure unions to accept bad deals.  After digesting what was in the proposal over the weekend, the union has decided to present the offer to the membership for their consideration.  The bargaining team recommends that the membership reject St. Joe’s offer.  If the membership votes to reject the proposal, both parties have a legal obligation to return to the bargaining table.

Information sessions will held on Thursday, March 27, from 6am-9am, 11:30am-1:30pm, and 6pm-9pm in Training Room B.

Voting will take place on Monday, March 31, and Tuesday, April 1, from 2:00pm-11:30pm in Auditorium C. 

Union gets Management to back down on BSN requirement

Thanks to the members pushing back, management withdrew its proposal last Thursday to require current employees to get their BSN or face termination.  Management still has on the table a proposal to force new hires to get their BSN.  The Union has suggested that management provide incentives for our members to get their degrees like additional tuition reimbursement rather than punishments.  Additional push back from the members is needed to get further improvements on this issue.

Union tells management, "I want my EIB!"

Management has refused to budge on their proposal to remove EIB from the contract:

Section 11.4 Extended Illness Bank (“EIB”)

Benefit status nurses (.5 FTE status or above) will be entitled to Extended Illness Bank time (“EIB”) after successful completion of ninety (90) calendar days of employment with the Medical Center.

EIB time is intended to be used for a nurse’s personal illness or accident.  There is a two (2) day (sixteen (16) hour) waiting period per occurrence before EIB time may be used for a personal illness.  Accrued PTO time will be used for up to the first two (2) consecutive days (sixteen (16) hours) per occurrence of personal illness or accident.

EIB hours shall accrue each payroll period using the following formula:

               Benefit Status Nurses                     .0462 x eligible hours

The maximum accumulation of EIB time is four hundred eighty (480) hours, or sixty (60) days.  EIB time is not paid upon termination.

In the event that Provena Health makes any system-wide changes to enhance the current EIB Program, all registered nurses covered under this agreement shall be eligible for any EIB Program changes.

[Remove references to EIB section in contract]

Immediately, this means that you will have to use twice as much PTO before using EIB.  Long-term, it means management can change or eliminate EIB as they see fit.  Does anyone think that further reductions in the benefit aren't coming?

Join your union negotiating in telling management "I want my EIB!"

Big issues still unsettled as we come down to the wire

Your Bargaining Team continues to work for a fair contract, one that enshrines safety and respect.  Through meetings, surveys, and discussions, it quickly became clear the safety and staffing  are the primary issues for many of the nurses here.  Currently, your Union is fighting for safe staffing minimums. This will create system the protects patient safety, with enforceable and objective staffing minimums.  Nurses on the bargaining team have offered to go unit by unit in a collaborative process with management.  Additionally, the team is fighting for “Free Charge” on the floors: a charge nurse that doesn’t take a team, and instead is a dedicated resource to her fellow nurses.  The team is also working to reform and improve the Staffing and Acuity Committee. Throughout, the Union nurses at the table have spoken with one voice: “Patient safety is paramount.”
          Management’s response?  Talk and more talk.  They are unwilling to cede any decision making ability to the real experts–us!  At times, they seem unwilling to admit that there even is a problem.  Please, join your Bargaining Team, and let the hospital know: “Inadequate staffing is all too real a problem!  Patient safety is paramount.  Give us the resources we need to care for OUR patients.”
         On wages, we have pushed management to move towards a pay scale.  This is a big  win for us.  It will create clearer, more equitable pay.  For many nurses, especially those  who have been here for several years, yet continue to make as much as new grads, this will result in sizeable, and well-earned, pay raises.  But here our work is not yet done.  Management continues to cry broke.  But, we know what we are  worth; it is a safe bet the hospital does, too.  We need the fair and competitive wages we deserve!
         Your team has made significant advances in several other areas.  We are close to an agreement on  call pay.  Your Bargaining Team has fought long and hard to end the exploitative practice of forcing nurses who take call to stay at the hospital, and only paying them straight time.  Both sides are extremely close to an agreement to end this practice, and have nurses compensated at time and a half.
          At the same time, management is also proposing removing EIB from the contract. That means they could make any changes they want, even eliminating it altogether.  It would immediately result in nurses having to use more PTO before receiving the EIB benefit.  We have heard from our members how important preserving EIB is and we're pushing back.  We have heard from you how important safe staffi ng is and we're pushing back.  We need YOU to let management know how important EIB is to you!  We need
YOU to let management know that you deserve safe staffing and decent wage!

This is OUR contract– All of Us.  We need your support!  Stay active and informed.

INA Nurses at Maryville Set to Strike Over Unfair Labor Practices

INA nurses at Maryville Behavioral Health Hospital in Des Plaines are set to strike March 10-15 over unfair labor practices.  MBHH is an inpatient psychiatric hospital program designed for children, adolescents, and young adults.

Ongoing injuries have been a major problem for staff. In the past two years, nurses have been repeatedly assaulted, suffering head injuries, stab wounds, and other serious harm. Maryville has already been reprimanded by OSHA for unsafe working conditions.

More recently, the National Labor Relations Board found merit to an Unfair Labor Practice charge of Maryville management's failure to bargain in good faith during negotiations in February of 2013. The employer's actions delayed the start and progress of bargaining.

Nurses have called the strike in the face of intense management intimidation. Representatives of management have indicated to staff that striking nurses would be illegally replaced.

Our sisters and brothers at Maryville would appreciate our support.  If your interested in helping their fight for justice, send us an email at ina.stjoes@gmail.com.


You can read more here

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140304/news/140309465/

Union Proposes Fix for Wage Inequities; Management Targets EIB

While the union continues to fight for safe staffing ratios, we have also taken on wage inequities created by St. Joe's hiring practices.  Our members are aware that some nurses make significantly less than a new hire with identical experience.  We have proposed a system that would bring nurses up if they are paid less than the hiring rate.  We have also proposed a minimum 4% increase for all nurses.  Additionally, we have seeking to significantly improve when overtime is paid, call pay, shift and weekend differentials, additional vacation and holidays among other economic proposals.

Management has respond with a 2% increase each year.  They continue to pursue a proposal that would require nurses to get a Bachelor's Degree or lose their job--without any additional funding for education!  St. Joe's is also proposing removing EIB from the contract, meaning they could make any changes they want, even eliminating it altogether.  It would immediately result in nurses having to use more PTO before receiving the EIB benefit. 

We have heard from our members how important preserving EIB is and we're pushing back.  We have heard from you how important safe staffing is and we're pushing back.  We need YOU to let management know how important EIB is to you!  We need YOU to let management know that you deserve safe staffing and decent wage!

Bargaining continues on Monday, March 3.

Bargaining Turns Tough Over Staffing

When the union surveyed our members last fall, the number one issue identified was staffing.  You told us that you are overworked, asked to do more and more with less and less, and that the quality of patient care suffers because of it.

The union and management met again on Thursday, February 13, for negotiations.  Although there has been progress up to this point, bargaining hit a roadblock over the issue of staffing.  The union has proposed staffing ratios intended to address the concerns you identified.  Management’s response: we are not understaffed.  We only need to be “educated” to see that everything is okay.

In an hour-long presentation, management tried to convince the union bargaining team there are already sufficient resources, we just don’t appreciate what we have.  All we need to do shuffle what is already available.  That’s like saying if only the deck chairs on the Titanic had been rearranged, it wouldn’t have sunk.

We know what you are experiencing is real.  Management already has the ability to redistribute resources to address the problem.  They haven’t done it.  We need enforceable contract language to fix the problem.

Studies directly link safe staffing to reduced rates of patient deaths and post-operative complications, including respiratory failure, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, shock, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and shorter hospital lengths-of-stay.   And it’s cost-effective for the hospital.  Safe staffing ratios have produced cost savings for hospitals in reduced spending on temporary nurses and overtime costs, lower nurse turnover, improved patient outcomes, and shorter patient lengths of stay.   Preventing medical errors reduces loss of life and could reduce healthcare costs by as much as 30 percent.

Now is the time for you to let your manager know that your unit is understaffed, you are over worked, and your patients are suffering for it.    Make your voice heard!  You deserve a real solution to the problem.

The union is meeting with members to discuss the issue on Tuesday, February 18, from 6:30am to 6:30pm in the Madison Board Room.  The next bargaining session is scheduled for Thursday, February 20.