Michigan nurses could end strikeThe 450 RNs on strike at Mt. Clemens (Mich.) General Hospital are expected to vote to approve a proposed contract that would end the 5-week-old walkout that has cost the hospital close to $3 million.
Detroit Free Press, Sept. 13, 2004
...Replacement nurses from a Denver-based company that specializes in staffing hospitals with labor disputes have been working at Mt. Clemens since about a week before the strike. Hospital officials have said the
replacement nurses from U.S. Nursing Corp. cost $2 million more a month than regular staff nurses. In addition to wages, the hospital provides transportation and housing to the replacements...
...
A few hospitals have addressed staffing in their collective bargaining agreements. The issue has gotten the attention of state legislators as well.
In January,
California became the first state to mandate nurse-to-patient ratios within specific units. Nurses in medical surgical areas can care for up to six patients, while emergency room nurses can have a maximum of four patients. In critical-care areas, there should be one nurse for every two patients.
The state gave hospitals five years to prepare for the law, but there are indications hospitals are having difficulty complying. More than one hospital has closed this year, citing the mandated staffing levels as a major reason.
Six other states have enacted staffing regulations, but not specific ratios. At least 18 more states, including Michigan, have introduced legislation that addresses nurse staffing.
In Michigan, legislation introduced in April by Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, would eliminate mandatory overtime and establish minimum staffing levels for nurses at hospitals.
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