No Way To Treat Nurses

[-jt]

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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[amy]

I hear you jt!

[-jt]

Would you believe it if I told you the CEO of this very hospital is none other than an RN?

(she is)

[oramar]

Good article, so glad you posted it jt. We have all know for a long time what managment is about haven't we. Good luck and God bless to all these courageous RNs.

[renerian, BSN, RN]

Walking away won't solve anything will it?

renerian

[-jt]

You mean as in the hospital walking away from the nurses & walking away from discussing their serious workplace & pt care problems & walking away from trying to come up with solutions for them with the RNs?

Youre right. Managment walking away from all that solves nothing.

[zudy]

Would you believe the CEO of this hospital is a nurse? She is.

-jt, this CEO might have letters after her name that say RN, but she is no nurse. She is obviously a disgrace to the profession. I've said it before, the only thing that gets me thru the day is the complete belief that there is a special place in hell for hospital administrators.

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

Would you believe it if I told you the CEO of this very hospital is none other than an RN?

One of the most ruthless and sociopathic CEO's that I ever had the misfortune of meeting was an MBA-RN (in NAME only...) who nearly destroyed (single-handedly) a beautiful little rural hospital in the eastern part of my state. I swear, this lady was so demonically evil, that she would send chills down your spine when you passed her in the hall. She had eyes, but no soul.

Have you noticed that since the US economy turned sour, that nursing conditions have been rapidly deteriorating DESPITE the nursing shortage??? Even the so-called "good" nursing positions such as Case Management and Home Health, are now also becoming intolerable??? What's a good nurse to do???

I have found my "haven" in nursing education, but then I wonder, what sort of cold, cruel world awaits my bright, wonderful, eager students when they graduate?

[Patsfan]

The more initials after the RN the further away from being a REAL nurse!!!

[globalRN]

Originally posted by Patsfan

The more initials after the RN the further away from being a REAL nurse!!!

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That is a generalization!

[Agnus]

I am working on my BSN. I read a couple of days ago in my Nursing management textbook that "Empoyers have The right to permanently relpace striking employees. "!!!!!!!!!

[-jt]

That depends on the kind of strike. In my city, which is in a union state, we put into our contracts that we will not strike while the contract is in effect - so if we did a wildcat strike (a strike while our contract is still in effect), it would be illegal & they probably could fire us all & replace us. But we strike to get a contract that is acceptable. If the contract is in effect, that means its one we already that was acceptable & we already agreed to, so there would be no reason to strike.

When we strike after our contract is expired & the hospital has been found to have committed unfair labor practice in causing that strike (like when they walk out on negotiations & give us no other choice), they cant touch us. They CANNOT permanently replace us for taking a legal strike.

I dont know what the laws are in the right-to-work-to-be-fired states. Maybe theyre different, but we CANNOT be fired for a LEGAL strike. Workers in this country, by law, have the RIGHT to strike. Its called "protected action"