Nurses on Strike

St. Catherine of Siena Strike: Issues

NYSNA Represented Nurses: 474
Contract Expired: May 15

Issues:
Staffing - In June 1998, the hospital, then known as St. John's Episcopal, was cited by the state Health Department for numerous violations - including low RN staffing - after the death of a patient. After this incident, NYSNA fought to establish, and won, a set of unit-by-unit, shift-by-shift, RN-to-patient staffing guidelines that would ensure a safe staffing level.

Within a year, because of complex administrative problems, St. John's faced bankruptcy. Catholic Health System of Long Island offered to buy the facility, but demanded the nurses surrender their staffing guidelines, threatening to close the hospital if they refused.

In the interests of their patients and the community, the nurses reluctantly agreed to give up the guidelines. Hospital officials promised that they would do their best to maintain a safe staffing level. But staffing remains a problem, and why the nurses voted Nov. 13 and 14 to strike.

Although the hospital is willing to consider reinstating a form of staffing guideline, it is not willing to enable nurses to enforce them through third-party arbitration. Such enforcement is a must if the nurses are to have the legal means to hold the hospital accountable.


Mandatory overtime - A problem that is an outgrowth of short staffing, mandatory overtime fills vacant shifts when there are not enough RNs on staff. Typically, a nursing supervisor orders a nurse to work the next shift, or leaves the nurse with no choice but to "volunteer." Not only is this disruptive to the nurse's life, should the nurse have children in daycare, but working an additional eight-hour shift is exhausting and dangerous for patient care.

The nurses want a provision stating the hospital will not require overtime except in an emergency. The hospital prefers to use such overtime as a regular staffing tool to fill vacancies.


Health coverage - As a means of encouraging veteran nurses to stay at St. Catherine's, NYSNA is seeking to improve their health benefits plan. NYSNA is offering a plan that would be more financially stable and offer far better benefits than the hospital's current self insured plan. The NYSNA plan would also offer the nurses the option of retirement health insurance, which is not available through the hospital. Although the plan is competitively priced, the hospital has inflated the figures to say it is too expensive.


12-Hour Shifts - Currently many RNs in specialty units are working "flextime" - a schedule of three days of 12-hour shifts. Not only does this schedule provide for greater continuity of patient care, it is attractive tool for recruiting nurses. The hospital is seeking the right to discontinue flextime with eight weeks notice, should the nursing shortage end. This would disrupt the lives of nurses and would lead to even more resignations.
Refusal to Work Overtime
St. Catherine's RNs were the first in the nation to officially refuse to volunteer for overtime last month. Under a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, a union can call for such a concerted action if it serves a 10-day notice.

Nurses Are Exercising Their Rights
This is a time when our nation is recognizing the crucial role of all who serve the public, especially in health care. It is now more important than ever that our health care system be able to respond to emergencies and provide the necessary care.

Yet the Medical Center continues to ignore nurses' concerns about safe staffing. In the United States, when employees believe their concerns are not being addressed they have a legally protected right to take action.
http://www.nysna.org/NEWS/current/messages.htm

From the grapevine:

>>I had been at St. Charles recently. The nurses had said that they were told to prepare for a strike in Feb of 2002. That’s when their contract is up. The supervisors there said that they, too, are kept informed of what is going on at St. Catherine’s. They were told from the higher-ups that "the nurses at St. Cathie’s will fold – they always do"!
This is what they are counting on and why you guys have never gotten your planned agenda. But they are starting to get nervous because they didn’t think you were going to last this long!! You guys are doing a great job in hanging tough.....>>

Disgraceful, isnt it?

St Catherines is a mid-sized suburban community acute care hospital with 475 RNs on staff. The improvements they need in their contract would cost $500,000 per year. The hospital claims it cant afford it. HOWEVER, in the first 2 WEEKS of the strike, it had already shelled out over $600,000 to the scab agency just for nurse strike-breakers. They are now past their 5th week & the hospital will not come back to the table yet. I wonder if any of those businessmen with their fancy MBA degrees can do the math. The nurses are working.......elsewhere. I dont think those numbers-crunchers the hospital has on staff are though.


Heres a letter that hits it right on the mark. It appeared in a local newspaper & was sent by an influential community leader:

<<<
Striking for Wage Equality:

I am glad Newsday covered the strike at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center ["Hospital: Strike Hasn't Hobbled Us," Dec. 22]. It is so easy to forget a strike when it is out of view.

The article reminded me once again of the systemic acceptance of wage discrimination against women (and minorities). Think about our working and living in a "supply and demand" world. Why is it that these nurses are in such high demand, yet they must beg for wages and benefits?

I think it is likely because they are in a profession dominated by women. Too many employers are still thinking of women as working for pin money. Yet studies have found that one-third of working women are single heads of households and half or more are contributing equally to their families' survival.

When will employers accept this? When will supply and demand truly set the wages and not gender (or even race)? It is time for Albany to pass and sign into state law wage equality bills that really work. This is, after all, a human rights issue and, more importantly, a family issue.

The governor's race is around the corner and so are thousands of voting women. (In fact the majority of the voting public is female.) It's time this issue was addressed.

If the hospital isn't "hobbled" by the high cost of replacement nurses, then why not treat the striking nurses right in the first place?

Kim Nowakowski
East Islip, LI

Editor's Note: The writer is vice president of Business and Professional Women of Deer Park.>>>>>>>

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/...433dec31.story