Especially in this time of shortages of nurses who are still willing to work in hospitals. THIS is how RN strikes are provoked by management. THIS is why RN strikes happen. Stuff like this really makes you wonder if the administrators are not actually trying to get rid of all of us for good:
For immediate release:
Montefiore management HALTS contract negotiations!
Nurses to hold protest on Oct. 22
BRONX, NYC - Oct. 17, 2002 -
The management of Montefiore Medical Center has
WALKED AWAY from the negotiating table, and the hospital's nurses are furious.
The nurses have been trying to negotiate a fair agreement for nearly a year, but hospital management refuses to consider their concerns about safe staffing and nurse recruitment
At the most recent session on Oct. 5, management, without warning, presented the nurses with a take it or leave it "final offer" that falls far short on both counts. Now management is refusing to negotiate any further.
As a result, the nurses will express their displeasure during
informational picketing from noon to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22, at
Montefiore's Moses Hospital Division on Gun Hill Road between Bainbridge and DeKalb avenues and at the hospital's Weiler Hospital Division at 1825 Eastchester Road near Sackett Avenue.
The 1,800 nurses are represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). Their most recent three-year contract expired on Jan.15, 2002.
"This 'final' offer, as it stands is NOT acceptable," said Judy
Sheridan-Gonzalez, chair of the bargaining unit at the medical center's Moses Division, "because it doesn't adequately address the need for enforceable RN-to-patient ratios and staffing levels. It's become necessary to include such provisions in writing because management continues to 'get by' each day with fewer nurses than are actually needed to deliver care."
This leads to nurses being responsible for an increasing number of
sicker patients during regular shifts, and the hospital's dependence on these same nurses to work excessive overtime hours, including forced overtime. In addition, to fill huge gaps, nurses are expected to work in unfamiliar areas without proper preparation. These conditions are unsafe for the public and lead to the exodus of nurses from the hospital and the profession.
"This is all taking place in the face of a burgeoning nursing shortage and an aging population, which will require even greater numbers of skilled nurses in the very near future. We need contract language that gives us legal recourse in order to protect the public," Sheridan-Gonzalez said.
The nurses are also concerned that management's recent offer will not provide enough of an incentive to attract new and experienced nurses, who have many options in the current job market. The hospital's latest economic offer would not distribute salary increases equitably and might easily discourage veteran nurses from remaining at the institution.
"Nurses are exhausted and extremely frustrated about our working conditions," Sheridan-Gonzalez said. "We've been patiently negotiating this contract since Nov. 9, 2001. We are very disappointed in management's responses to our concerns and our patience is wearing thin."
NYSNA is the professional association for registered nurses in New York
with more than 34,000 members statewide. A multipurpose organization, NYSNA
fosters high standards of nursing education and practice and works to
advance the profession through legislative activity and collective
bargaining. NYSNA is a constituent of the American Nurses Association (ANA)
and its labor arm, the United American Nurses (UAN), which is an affiliate
of the AFL-CIO.
For information, contact Mark Genovese at NYSNA at (518)
782-9400, Ext. 353.
http://www.NYSNA.org
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