Nurses union to University of Michigan: 'no cuts' to benefits

[scecile]

http://www.annarbor.com/news/nurses-union-to-university-of-michigan-no-cuts-to-benefits/

nurses union to university of michigan: 'no cuts' to benefits

by juliana keeping

carrying signs with slogans like "chop from the top," and chanting "nurses united will never be divided," hundreds of university of michigan nurses rallied saturday to show support for a favorable contract for their 4,000-member union.

"we have built the reputation the university of michigan health system enjoys and we work hard every day to uphold that reputation," said katie oppenheim, president of the u-m nurses union. "...that's why patients come here from all over the world."

the nurses, oppenheim said, want a "fair contract," with no cuts to benefits.

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the nurses are asking for raises, oppenheim said at a press conference in early august; but neither the nurses union its employer has provided details on the details of the contract dispute.

the two sides disagree over pensions, health-care benefits, paid time off and other items and haven't resolved the differences in 37 meetings held since negotiations began in april.

the union and the employer called in a state mediator thursday who will sit down with the sides tuesday to try to resolve differences.

friday, umhs released a statement that noted saturday's picket was not a strike, and that the event wouldn't impact patient care.

but there was some talk of a strike at the event. the the nurses gave no indication they planned to back down during the negotiations.

"we will win this fight," oppenheim told the crowd.

a registered nurse from the university of chicago medical center told the crowd about her 1,300-hundred member union's recent contract battle, which included threats of a strike.

"that's when the administration started listening," dawn peckler told the crowd, to cheers and applause.

university of michigan registered nurses tiziana berlasty, right, cheers with other nurses at saturday's rally.

angela j. cesere | annarbor.com

nurses, their family members and supporters from numerous unions and activist groups showed up near the medical campus in red to display their support, oppenheim noted while speaking before the crowd at noon saturday.

hundreds of nurses wore shirts that bore the slogan "nurses make the michigan difference."

supporters who spoke at the event characterized concessions more broadly, as an attack on the middle class by corporate america and a battle between working families and the wealthy few.

nurses, they say, are among other labor groups who are being asked to do more for less pay.

after about a half hour of speaking, the group marched around the hospital area while chanting support.

linda gibb, one of the participants, said that the nurses are key to the health system's revenue, since people go there because of the excellent patient care provided by the nurses.

michelle saldana, another attendee, said the health system's benefits make it a draw for nurses at the top of their profession. but saldana, who commutes an hour to work each day, said "i might look elsewhere" if those benefits are cut.

juliana keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for annarbor.com. reach her at [email protected] or 734-623-2528. follow juliana keeping on twitter

tags: juliana keeping,

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I used to work there with the most entitled and lazy group of nurses (I floated in the critical care units only, can't speak to the rest of the system) I have worked with in my career. If they didn't like the least little thing, they threatened to call their union rep. The whole d@mn state is bankrupt with some of the worst economic conditions in the country, but god forbid they recognize that the system is probably losing money hand over fist since most of their patients probably can't pay. As long as they get theirs, the he// with the consequences. Despicable.

Excellent teaching hospital, best residents and medical teams I have ever worked with, worst nurses. Strange dichotomy.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

[who's big fish? | what's the best restaurant for seafood ?cast your vote ]

imho, not red lobster....

in all seriousness, i have little sympathy for those that pay little to nothing for benefits. sorry, speaking from what i have heard from the local unions here (bus drivers, state road constructions crews, etc.).

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

I volunteered at a hospital where the nurses voted to strike. The hospital settled before the walkout began. Among other issues, the hospital wanted the nurses to pay 10% of their health insurance premiums. Non-nurses paid 50% of their health insurance premiums. The nurses were quite surprised when the non-union staff, instead of cheering them on, instead asked "What are you complaining about?!"

[tewdles, RN]

My family uses the U of M health system...and has been very happy with the care. It is one of the best medical systems in the world. I, personally, use the other health system in AA and believe that the nursing care is MUCH better...that hospital is nonunion.

I know quite a number of RNs who work in the U of M system and I would trust them with the lives of myself or my family. However, I cannot speak in support of nursing care, in general, at the U as compared to my experiences elsewhere.

[highlandlass1592, BSN, RN]

IMHO, not Red Lobster....

In all seriousness, I have little sympathy for those that pay little to nothing for benefits. Sorry, speaking from what I have heard from the local unions here (bus drivers, state road constructions crews, etc.).

I am a University of Michigan nurse..I DO NOT have free benefits, in fact, I already pay 20% of my health care benefits in addition to many other fees the university imposes for the "privilege" of working there. My pay is not commiserate with nurses at other facilities, with my years of experience I'm actually not offered raises. Before you start making such statements, you might want to find out the facts!

[highlandlass1592, BSN, RN]

I used to work there with the most entitled and lazy group of nurses (I floated in the critical care units only, can't speak to the rest of the system) I have worked with in my career. If they didn't like the least little thing, they threatened to call their union rep. The whole d@mn state is bankrupt with some of the worst economic conditions in the country, but god forbid they recognize that the system is probably losing money hand over fist since most of their patients probably can't pay. As long as they get theirs, the he// with the consequences. Despicable.

Excellent teaching hospital, best residents and medical teams I have ever worked with, worst nurses. Strange dichotomy.

It's obvious you know nothing about the facts of the issue. The hospital IS NOT losing money, in fact they MADE A PROFIT last year with a 2% profit margin! Unlike many other facilities in the state, they have NOT operated in the red in the last 8 years that I've been there.

As a critical care nurse at the U, I am very hard-working and quite dedicated to my patients and their care. While you may have had a negative experience, that is certainly not true for the majority of nurses currently employed. EVERY hospital is going to have staff that may be "lazy" as you call them. I am privileged to work with some wonderful staff, who truly give their all for their patients.

Again, as I told another poster, please get your facts straight before you make such a post.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

I am a University of Michigan nurse..I DO NOT have free benefits, in fact, I already pay 20% of my health care benefits in addition to many other fees the university imposes for the "privilege" of working there. My pay is not commiserate with nurses at other facilities, with my years of experience I'm actually not offered raises. Before you start making such statements, you might want to find out the facts!

I apologize, I made my post in haste. My post should read more like this: locally, in my part of the world, unions have taken some very silly, rude, and selfish bargaining positions. I know this is a logical fallacy to allow the poor actions of these unions to jade my view of other unions. Right or wrong, it does. I do admit, I don't know much about the union/contract for nurses at UM, but others familiar with the nurses there and the quality of care they provide further jaded me on this issue.

[AnxiousRNtobe]

These are my facts, for which I will not apologize nor retract: There certainly are good and bad nurses everywhere. I don't buy the crap about UM being "Michigan Difference", that's PR propaganda that most of us locals don't believe, only out-of-towners believe (go ahead and flame me, I have seen absolutely awful care there). I also know of an ADN nurse who is making close to $100,000 a year and most of the nurses I know are making well more then $60,000, a lot in this area.

That being said, I work at a large, tertiary care medical center an hour from Ann Arbor. We have over 31,000 employees at all of the hospitals. We just got our first raise in 3 years, we had not had a cost of living or merit raises at all. I pay a 1.5% income tax for the privilege of working in that city. I pay over 20% of my benefit costs, I do not get the 2:1 401K matching that I got at UM. When I worked at UMHS I paid about 20% of my healthcare costs, paid for parking, etc because that is part of working there. Sorry, but I don't see why nurses should be exempt from what the rest of the University of Michigan employees are subject to in terms of benefits and pay. Faculty, researchers, support staff, scrub techs, aides, social workers, etc also perform important work. When we pit "my work is more important then YOUR work", it never turns out well.

[tewdles, RN]

I also know of an ADN nurse who is making close to $100,000 a year and most of the nurses I know are making well more then $60,000, a lot in this area...

When we pit "my work is more important then YOUR work", it never turns out well.

Even not for profit hospice nurses in the AA area make more than 60k...so if you are in a hospital system in Jackson, Howell, or the greater metro Detroit area and don't make similar wages you are being taken for granted and are underpaid, IMHO. I made some ridiculous wages myself, even back in the day, when I was young and could work that overtime. I evolved out of that with age, LOL.

I think that the question is not whether or not our work as professional RNs is more important than someone else's work. The question is whether or not our work as professional RNs is important to the health outcomes of the patient. For EVERY SINGLE PATIENT who is hospitalized, the work of a professional nurse is necessary and critical to their health and return to "normal". In fact, some would argue that the ONLY reason for a person to stay in the hospital is to receive the 24hr/day skilled nursing care. Additionally, all post-hospital efforts to maintain patient health and prevent re-hospitalizations requires the oversight of a professional nurse to be successful. This is how important our skills are to the health of medically fragile patients.

So, like many other professionals, we should be paid and have benefit packages from our employers that are in balance with our (mandated) professional duties, responsibilities, and liabilities. We, certainly don't expect to have the same wage or benefit packages of a U of M professor. Nor do we expect to enjoy the same wages and benefits of the CEOs.

In that vein, I have no problem, whatsoever with an APN having a MUCH nicer wage and benefit package than me. However, I would have a problem if I had the same wage and benefit package of the nursing aides, or the unit clerk. That makes sense, right? U of M is a really big place with all sort of employees who have NOTHING to do with direct patient care or nursing(es) unless they are lucky enough to love one of us.

What do you think, AnxiousRNtobe?