Nurse Strike at MCP/Hahnemann???

RNangelER · Dec 1, 2003

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to update you guys. The nurses here in Philly(MCP Hospital) voted today on TENETS "best and final offer" It was rejected by the nurses! TENETS offer about mandation was the first year we could be mandated 2x a month. When figured out the contract would be . . . We get mandated 24x with only 3 refusals. The second year 1x a month. So 12x a year with only 2 refusals. Management was spreading around the hospital that we would accept this offer and the nurses will be returning soon! Boy would I have loved to have been a fly on the wall when they heard we rejected it. We will keep all of you posted. Thanks everyone for their support and good wishes.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Dec 2, 2003

KYW Radio Report

http://www.kyw1060.com/news_story_detail.cfm?newsitemid=33699

KYW TV coverage

http://www.kyw1060.com/news_story_detail.cfm?newsitemid=33699

XtREmeRN · Dec 3, 2003

Hello everyone. I would like to express my sadness towards the exuberence displayed at yesterday's vote. Upon the announcement of the collaborative bargaining rejection, several union members erupted in cheer and celebration, one even had the audacity to pass out cigars. As a relatively new RN, it is unfortunate to see such a lack of compassion and the ignorance displayed. Where is the victory? These people malign a profession which should be entrenched with empathy and care. As a PNA member, I am deeply offended and humiliated. Not only are several of our own out of work during the holidays, we are also inadvertently causing layoffs and compromising work hours for other employees? Should we be high-fiving each other and rejoicing? You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

RNangelER · Dec 3, 2003

Sorry to hear that you feel that way XtREmeRN. You must be one the few at MCP that mandation does not effect. And if for some reason it does, I cannot imagine someone not rejoicing that a strong group of professionals took a stand and refused an offer to be forced to work at least 24x a year and only being able to refuse 3x. And WON! As said many times on this forum, mandation is not safe for our patients, our license, our health, or our families. It is not safe no matter what limits or provisions the second biggest healthcare corporation puts on it. Yes, this is a victory! At this time, it is a small victory. A small victory for our patients, the nurses at MCP and all around the country. The real victory will be when mandation is illegal! If you did not know there are 3 bills in the federal government that hopefully will be passed. And there are 5 bills in front of the Pennsylvania government. Law makers realize the risks involved and so should TENET!

TENET needs to realize the solutions to the shortage of Nurses at MCP is not mandation. It is recruitment and retention. How many nurses walking in to Human Resources do you think would be willing to take a job at MCP knowing they could be mandated 24x a year and can only refuse 3x. Not many! At the time of our strike there were anywhere from 60-75 RN positions available. If this contract was ratified there would have been more, due to many of your co-workers would have resigned.

There is joy in striking!

I have made so many new friends. People that worked in the same building with me for the past years that I never met. These relationships are now strong bonds that will never be broken. We enjoy sharing our thoughts and feelings whether they be happy or sad. There is joy in knowing we are one step closer to winning this battle. There is joy in seeing how courageous we can be. There is joy in seeing that people really do have "empathy and care" and they do not just want to accept a contract to get back in for the $$$.

Yes, many of us are out of work for the holidays but that is by choice. They are more than enough jobs in Philadelphia, the suburbs, and New Jersey to go around. Many are working and also doing their part for the strike and at the picket line. All it takes is a little motivation to look for a job in the meantime. I will say that it is sad that TENET chooses to keep their census at 44 patients (as it was most of last week). As it would have been if the contract was ratified. Many nurses will not go back to MCP under such a horrific contract. Therefore, other employees will still be getting laid off and their hours cut. I do not think one nurse on strike is not thinking about the effects this is having on other employees. And of course we are all sadden by this.

You bet, we should be rejoicing. We just had another little win over a Corporate Giant. I am not ashamed of myself. I am PROUD. Proud to be a nurse at MCP on strike. Proud of everyone's hard work and efforts. Proud to be part of a fight in a just cause!

Gldngrl · Dec 3, 2003

I'm sorry you feel that way ExtREmeRN, but you need to understand that this is Tenet's modus operandi, they've done this in other strikes and they do not care about whether or not nurses are operating safely. They will hire replacements and pay $ that they claim they can't afford to pay you or pay to hire additional nurses so that you won't have to be mandated to work overtime. If Tenet really cared about its nursing staff, it should have bargained in good faith instead of stonewalling. Trust me, this is the very same issue that occurred in Worcester, MA (St. Vincent's Hosp now Worcester Medical Center) and the nurses had the support of the public, the other unions (nurses, police, fireman, etc.) and Sens. Kennedy and Kerry. Please research the issues and try to understand why your colleagues were happy that they stood up to Tenet and rejected their offer, standing strong in unity- they need your support right now. MMB

-jt · Dec 3, 2003

Since youre a new nurse, its understandable how you could misiniterpret the striking nurses reaction. It was not out of lack of "compassion" that they celebrated. And they were not celebrating the strike. A strike is a hardship and no fun. The nurses were celebrating the fact that they were still standing united and had remained strong enough together to reject an unacceptable offer from the hospital that would have continued the unsafe practice of mandatory overtime. They were celebrating the fact that they didnt cave in on the important issue of forced overtime and had sent a message to the hospital about just how important that issue is. After weeks on the strike line, especially so close to the holidays, some people might be getting weary and feeling like giving up on their principle. The employer is hoping for that. But those nurses showed that this is not going to happen - and that IS a victory - and that is what they were celebrating -- their committment to each other, the pts and the issue. And rightly so. They should be congratulated for taking that stand - not scolded.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 3, 2003

sounds like TENET is hell to work for.

my hat is off to you who refused this mandate. you are doing the right thing.

to the new nurse, please read the replies to the other thread to get a clear picture of how such "shameful" actions may actually BENEFIT YOU.

RN-PA, RN · Dec 3, 2003

We have many staffing ratio issues and other problems at my hospital, but at least we've never been forced into mandatory overtime-- yet.

I'm standing with you in spirit out in the Philly burbs! Keep up the good fight!

-jt · Dec 3, 2003

#1. YOU are not causing any of that. Your employer has chosen to take that route. Dont forget the issue - unsafe mandatory ot is being used to fill staffing holes instead of recruiting enough staff - simply because mandatory ot is cheaper to use in the long run than it is to have more staff permanently on the payroll with benefits etc. Your employer is abusing the nurses with this practice, causing an unsafe situation for both pt & nurse, affecting the well-being of both, risking the pts lives and the RNs licenses - all so it doesnt have to spend any extra money or cut into its profits. Your employer refuses to address this issue and has chosen to wear you down on this demand by making you strike for it. Because your employer took this action, other workers in the facility are being affected too. That is not your doing nor is it your responsibility. If you are upset that the employer has chosen to take an action that is adversely affecting the other workers, demand that the employer come to its senses and settle this strike. The nurses are not responsible for the employers actions and cannot allow themselves or their pts to remain in unsafe situations merely because they are afraid of what the employer might do to other employees if the nurses take a stand.

#2. There is a nursing shortage. Work, especially in cities like yours, is everywhere. There is no reason why a nurse who wants to work during her strike wouldnt be able to find a place to work. Most of the time they dont even have to look far for it - agencies and other hospital even come to the strike lines to sign striking nurses up for per diem, pt, and temp.

Gldngrl · Dec 3, 2003

jt-thank you for putting forth those points so clearly to help others understand what the issues are!

Smiling-from personal experience, Tenet was not the kindly corp to work for. 10-12 pts in stepdown cardio-thoracic. I and 5 of my colleagues left after a night where 3 of our patients were having MIs at the same time and we only had 3 nurses on nights, assessments from 11p did not get down until 5a and we all helped one another get patients to the unit. We left for a unionized hospital b/c we never thought this particular hospital would ever be unionized (had attempted before and failed, etc.).

Now, I'm older and wiser and have more fight in me and realized we should've stayed to organize...problem is that I'm in a right to work state with no nursing unions whatsoever:roll . But I'm always alert for management abuse and I try to assert our rights as nurses in the workplace wherever I am, which as you can imagine, makes me not so popular:devil: MMB

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Dec 4, 2003

Nurses Union requests binding arbitration:

Phila. inquirer 12/2/03

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/7391125.htm

LaurieCRNP2002, MSN, RN, APRN · Dec 4, 2003

First, I would like to congratulate all the MCP nurses for standing strong and "staying the course". I imagine it must be difficult to not have income or benefits, but I encourage you all to continue this fight. I believe the outcome will have a ripple effect not just in the immediate Philadelphia area but also throughout the country.

I also applaud Daily News columnist Ronnie Polaneczky for her thoughtful articles about this situation. I remember quite a few years ago (early 90's or so) when Steve Lopez, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, took up writing about the plight of various nurses that were being forced to do OT. He also wrote about two big insurance giants headquartered in our area and some of their most galling coverage denials to ill patients. Sadly enough, some bigwigs in high places must have gone screaming to the Inquirer b/c eventually Mr. Lopez "moved on" to New York, and is now in California writing for the LA Times. So I would encourage those of us in the immediate Philly area to continue to read Ms. Polaneczky's columns and be prepared to come to her defense should she face similar pressures that I'm sure were brought upon Mr. Lopez.

Although it's not about the strike, Ms. Polaneczky wrote yet another article about nurses, specifically nurse practitioners in the city. The column is titled, "Nurses Make a Difference". Not that this is a huge news flash to us, but it's still nice to get a pat on the back from an astute outside observer :)

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/7249805.htm

Laurie

Not-so-new MSN anymore