Big pay cut at Orlando Health, please help your fellow Nurses

[skyflight]

Please help your fellow Nurses in Orlando they are desperate. Orlando Health has spit in the face of Nursing. Please help them by signing a petition to stop this huge pay cut at change.org http://www.change.org/petitions/orlando-health-stop-nightshift-differential-cuts-to-nurses

"Orlando Health announced Monday, August 5 that they will be cutting the night and weekend shift differential to thousands of employees, across 8 area hospitals, to go in effect September 8. These cuts are more than 50% of the current rate and will result to each an individual loss upwards of $600/month, $7000-$15,000/year. A majority of the employees affected are Nurses, who are already notoriously underpaid and overworked. Corporate members are denying any request for negotiations, and gave less than 1-month notice for employees to acclimate to this substantial financial blow. The Orlando health corporation decided they want to decrease pay significantly, with no decrease in employee workload."

PLEASE! Your help is desperately needed.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Orlando Health has cut night shift differential of all employees by over 50% which range from $7000-15000 a year. They have claimed it is from Medicare and Medicaid cuts but will not support any of the claims by documentation.

I can tell you what they are doing is making renovations to several of their facilities and buying physician groups all costing over $200 million. These renovations include wall papering , granite counter tops, computers in all the rooms, several med carts on every floor of the hospital (costing approx. $10,000 each), and updated medical equipment such as brand new fetal monitors.

On top of those cost they have hired an auditing financial company (Hatchet Company) named Deloitte Growth Enterprise Services for millions of dollars for 3 years to find ways to cut cost. This is an out of state company so all expenses are paid by Orlando Health for these people to come and make these cuts. This company also receives a percentage of all money that is saved, so while the employees of Orlando health can no longer put food on their tables, Deloitte Growth Enterprise is making a fortune.

One of the nurses has started a petition to be delivered to the desk of Sherrie Sitarik CEO of the hospital whose salary is in the millions to reconsider this harsh decision. Sherrie Sitarik who just took a nice vacation to Bermuda paid for by a company affiliated with Orlando Health states that she is not budging. This petition is gaining more and more media attention as the number of the petition grows. The nurses of Orlando Health are fighting for their livelihood, and they may just be fighting for nurses everywhere. Sadly this trend is spreading, please help the nurses of Orlando Health by signing the petition at.

http://www.change.org/petitions/orlando-health-stop-nightshift-differential-cuts-to-nurses

Thank so much for your help.

Duplicate threads merged per site terms of service

[blueheaven]

And there are those who oppose unions! This is an instance where a good union could help out in this situation. Pay cuts are happening more and more across the nation. The amount they want to cut in Orlando is totally outrageous! I couldn't live with that much of a cut in pay. I can only imagine how badly this is affecting everyone. This is economic recovery???? I don't think so.

[sneeds]

I noticed on salary.com and indeed that RN wages are down a big percentage across the board. This is messed up. More money floats to the top and RNs are losing support members and are doing toooo much FOR LESS! I can make more and be less liable as a bartender.

[sneeds]

There is also online software that you can create a petition that emails members of state, local and federal govt. I'm trying to find that link again. I applaud Sarah and all nurses who back nurses and their patients and you know what, we probably will find support by doctors too.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Thank you for this!

As a child of the 1970's well remember those "Shake n Bake" commercials featuring Southern accents one had never heard despite having extensive family in the region. In particular wondered how "helped" was spelled the way it was being pronounced.

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.....

To be honest, I just took a stab at the phonetic spelling. I figured those of us "of a certain age" would get it.

​I am glad NNOC is getting involved. OH needs a reminder that nurses are not indentured servants.

[OCNRN63, RN]

Things are happening: Confirmed: Union targeting Orlando Health employees - Orlando Business Journal

And some of the natives aren't happy and or are nervous:

In-Depth: Orlando Health workers consider unionizing | News 13

​That was the most inarticulate interview I have ever read.

[sneeds]

I think overall, if nurses are scared of unions, maybe it's because we don't have all the facts about them and how they can empower us (that is the fault of unions and nurses). If nurses feel their unions can't help then form another kind of union. It's pretty simply, if you can't get support for what is needed by one group then get together and form another group that can get things done. We see this everyday in private businesses. Take advantage of new technology. Form a group who get's paid fairly (not hundreds of thousands or millions) to represent us that helps us. Surely together, we can make change.... why isn't this done? Are we too tired after work? I know I am. I think every working person is. It just keeps getting worse. sigh.....

[brandy1017, ASN, RN]

Unions help, but it depends on the strength of the union some are simply better than others. The national nurses united in CA are obviously very powerful, other unions not so much! Also why is it that unions don't give a yearly financial accounting of what they do with all the dues they collect! They have some legal loophole that they don't have to publicize this data! I don't understand that!

Also hospitals are struggling with decreased reimbursement and have to find ways to cut costs, yet still maintain quality care and this is a difficult balance. Some maintainance and remodeling is necessary to keep the hospital up to date with safe, working equipment. Also the differentials seem very generous and awfully high to me. I wonder what the average differentials are across the country and also that particular city and region. We take differentials for granted, but I believe they are at the discretion of the employer and they can be changed at any time. I doubt the petition will change things, although the media will increase pressure on hospital administration, but I'm sure they can respond with a PR campaign of how this is needed to keep the hospital open. Hospitals are closing throughout the country due to lack of reimbursement.

When it comes down to it, the people affected will have to decide what is the best response, quit and try to get a better job elsewhere, assuming the other hospitals have such a generous differential program or work overtime or cut costs. I'm sure the nurses and staff at the hospitals that closed down would have rather taken a pay cut vs lose their jobs and then be adrift in a glut of nurses and healthcare workers competing for not nearly enough jobs for everyone! The mortgage, car payment and student loans still have to be paid whether you have a job or not!

[Powerflex]

As far as unions go, the union in Florida is the National Nurses United and it is one of the most powerful nurses unions in the country. They have done a lot of good for nurses and stand behind their nurses 150 percent. The nurses at Orlando health need to unionize and they need to do it now. It is the only thing that will stop this greedy CEO and her cronies.

Nurses in Florida are among some of the lowest paid in the nation, FACT! Nurses are already way underpaid for the work they do. In Florida they are far from well paid. Orlando also has one of the highest cost of livings in Florida. Differentials are the only thing that make it worth working nights for many. You do NOT hire someone for a certain amount of money and then take that away anytime you feel like it. People have families to support and children to feed.

If the company could take $297 MILLION dollars in remodeling and $50 MILLION for a physicians group than I am sure paying the nurses their night shift differential could somehow be worked into the budget OR cut other costs to ensure you maintain the staff that has supported and been loyal to the company for so many years. Even better the CEO of the company could have shown some compassion by not going to a luxury vacation to BERMUDA paid for by an affiliated company of Orlando Health when she had been lying to her staff for MONTHS stating she would not cut the cost of night shift differential. On top of that she also cut weekend differentiol for all nurses.

The CEO Sherrie Sitarik at Orlando Health is taking advantage of these nurses and is treating them like dogs. She gets paid millions and she has NOT taken a paycut herself nor has anyone on the Orlando Health board. These nurses in Florida are fighting for all of us. The last thing we nurses need is other GREEDY CEO's thinking they can do what ever they want with our paychecks. The nurses in Orlando are fighting a good fight, Signing this petition is the least we can do for our fellow nurses.

[OCNRN63, RN]

I can't get into the mindset of nurses here who are fine with the hatchet coming down on the pay of their fellow nurses, but say nothing about the multi-million dolllar salaries of managers. You can't tell me their CEO, who is currently earning $2.2 million/year, couldn't live just as happily on $500,000. Why is it when a hosp. is having financial problems, it's always nurses and low wage employees like housekeeping who have to suffer.

[Powerflex]

I can't get into the mindset of nurses here who are fine with the hatchet coming down on the pay of their fellow nurses, but say nothing about the multi-million dolllar salaries of managers. You can't tell me their CEO, who is currently earning $2.2 million/year, couldn't live just as happily on $500,000. Why is it when a hosp. is having financial problems, it's always nurses and low wage employees like housekeeping who have to suffer.

So very true, I could have not said it better myself.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Pay cuts are on hold for a month.

Orlando Health postpones pay cuts | News 13

They need to be careful. Such drastic, sweeping cuts certainly opens the doors for the unions.