[rnpatrick]

It seems this landmark case is over the head of most nurses so it needs to be reintroduced in terms you can understand. It is about a large group of hospitals banding together to price fix wages and who also blacklist nurses. It could affect your ability to work the entire state. In affect hospital racketeering. This is not going on in just one state but many. It is a union for the hospitals in states were nurses have absolutley no workers rights. If this doesn't interest you then you deserve to work for a few dollars less and if you are wrongfully terminated don't come on this forum and complain.Here is the ruling. I hope you will make your voice heard.

www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/azhha.htm

[zozzy777]

Originally Posted by rnpatrick

It seems this landmark case is over the head of most nurses so it needs to be reintroduced in terms you can understand. It is about a large group of hospitals banding together to price fix wages and who also blacklist nurses. It could affect your ability to work the entire state. In affect hospital racketeering. This is not going on in just one state but many. It is a union for the hospitals in states were nurses have absolutley no workers rights. If this doesn't interest you then you deserve to work for a few dollars less and if you are wrongfully terminated don't come on this forum and complain.Here is the ruling. I hope you will make your voice heard.

www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/azhha.htm

If I read it correctly, it says the Arizona Hospital Association cannot dictate to the hospitals what agencies to use, rates, bonuses, and things like that. If that is so, that is awesome.

I was a travel nurse in Phoenix many years ago and did a travel contract at St. Luke's. When it came time to renew, I told the ICU manager I would renew but I am not floating anymore. I was basically floated to a tele floor every day. He agreed to this and said that would not be a prob. I told my agency to write it in the contract. Well, the hospital would not do it. So I said I would not renew because they did not meet my terms. The Arizona Hospital told me I had broke a contract (I never signed the new one because it was wrong) and would not let me work at any of the hospitals that belonged to their association.

It was completely wrong, but there was nothing I could do.

You are right, there are many states doing this. Ohio has the Ohio hospital association and to do agency or travel, everyone has to go through them. They have fixed the wages too. It is wrong. I would love to know how they went about the lawsuit in Arizona!!

[CapeCodMermaid]

Originally Posted by rnpatrick

It seems this landmark case is over the head of most nurses so it needs to be reintroduced in terms you can understand. It is about a large group of hospitals banding together to price fix wages and who also blacklist nurses. It could affect your ability to work the entire state. In affect hospital racketeering. This is not going on in just one state but many. It is a union for the hospitals in states were nurses have absolutley no workers rights. If this doesn't interest you then you deserve to work for a few dollars less and if you are wrongfully terminated don't come on this forum and complain.Here is the ruling. I hope you will make your voice heard.

www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/azhha.htm

RNPatrick, you seem mighty condescending in your first sentence.

[loricatus]

Originally Posted by rnpatrick

It is about a large group of hospitals banding together to price fix wages and who also blacklist nurses. It could affect your ability to work the entire state. In affect hospital racketeering. This is not going on in just one state but many. It is a union for the hospitals in states were nurses have absolutley no workers rights.

Sounds like North Texas (DFW Hospital Association) with its Group One. How come nothing being said about racketeering there? For now, prefer to keep what I think to myself.

[rnpatrick]

Originally Posted by CapeCodMermaid

RNPatrick, you seem mighty condescending in your first sentence.

Whether you realize it or not our profession is in crisis. It is held hostage by fear and denial. Sometimes it requires one to make a statement to get peoples attention to get them to think. I noted that 1000 nurses were more interested in discussing the difference between travel and per dium nursing than a courtcase thats affects thier ability to earn a better living and have job security. It appears that you were more interested in the tone of my post than the content.

[rnpatrick]

Originally Posted by loricatus

Sounds like North Texas (DFW Hospital Association) with its Group One. How come nothing being said about racketeering there? For now, prefer to keep what I think to myself.

Group One can keep you from working in the DFW area. Hospitals in that area tend to use few travelers. There is a local agency that has a monopoly on staffing contract nurses. It would be interesting to see if there are any violations. I know a few years ago there were some privacy issues that caused a lot of problems.

[gitterbug]

As long as nurses have or are perceived as having no power, then wages, working conditions, and safety issues will always be a problem.

[LadyNASDAQ]

It may not be what you want to hear but I think this is a good idea to get rid of dangerous Nurses and as far as price fixing, they know that many Nurses won't work for low wages so they'll have to rethink out what is fair and affordable. They know Nurses will go over State lines if needed. We are our own entrepreneurs and by low balling wages, there would be no staffing.

[jmgrn65]

I read the judgement and it applies to travel/agency nursing. SO if the decrease wages too much then nurses will simply not work through the agencies. When they don't have nurses to fill the needs they will then have to raise the wages. It is simple supply and demand.

[rnpatrick]

There is nothing wrong with identifying nurses who are not clinically competent. But, with their system there is no deliniation. If you raised safety concerns and the manager terminates you you have the same label: "No Return." You will not be able to work in over 100 hospitals. In Phoenix you basically are a jobless nurse.There is no appeal process. The agencies in essence pay "protection" money to do business with the AZHHA. So do the nurses who work for less. Silence is "enforced" by the threat of being banned from the area. Nurses writing in to tell thier stories to the Justice Department will give their testimony and lets see where the cards fall after that. They have already been caught for price fixing so lets see if there are other violations of the law. If nothing else it illistrates the way business is done and why nurses leave the profession.