Potential MN Nurses Strike?

cabernet · May 11, 2010

(My first post) I am in Minnesota and a strike is definitely looming. The hospitals are not negotiating on anything, because they want to break the union. They sit silent and stone faced at negotiations. When North Memorial opened the non-union Maple Grove hospital, they put a foot in the door of breaking the union in the Twin Cities. I know the economy is rough, and the worst possible time to strike, but our entire contract is at stake. Yes, it's true, they actually want us to float between hospitals. Yes, it's true, they will not even discuss staffing. The VP of one hospital said "what does staffing have to do with patient care"? and refuses to put it on the table. The spokeswoman for the hospitals says "nurses are too emotional about the staffing issues". We know the money is there, the hospitals have made so much money in fact, some were threatened with losing their non-profit status and IRS tax exemption. The money is there. They have done everything they can to insult, demean, and belittle the concerns of thousands of professionals who have devoted their lives to this calling. If it comes to a strike, it will be the largest nursing strike in US history. It will effect you and your working conditions, wherever you are. It will be unprecedented, because for once, we are united with 12,800 RN's voting together on May 19th. We are frightened, and we need your understanding, if not your support.

Leyla~ · May 11, 2010

The hospitals are not negotiating on anything, because they want to break the union. ... Yes, it's true, they actually want us to float between hospitals. Yes, it's true, they will not even discuss staffing. The VP of one hospital said "what does staffing have to do with patient care"? and refuses to put it on the table. The spokeswoman for the hospitals says "nurses are too emotional about the staffing issues".

You should maybe do a bit more research and listen to a lot less gossip. They NEVER proposed we float between hospitals. They HAVE discussed staffing. Check your latest "Negotiation News" (sorry, only viewable to Allina staff members). Allina has changed their proposals, the union has offered to change NOTHING. Personally, Allina is looking considerably more reasonable than the MNA. Making me believe they are just looking to hold a gun to the hospitals head because they feel they have the power to do so.

And still, MNA has been totally silent regarding these so-called "safe staffing" issues. What is Allina requesting that is so awful? What are the new suggested patient ratios? Can we get more than a tasty sound bite please? Why is Allina so willing to provide details while MNA schemes and offers vagaries?

cabernet · May 11, 2010

Well, "nurse" leyla, our hospital IS proposing floating between hospitals. Your vehemently hate filled anti-union posts go beyond just being angry at being laid off. One would almost think these words came from one of many extremely well paid union busters posing as nurses. I can't imagine a fellow nurse would believe RN's are as pampered, greedy and spoiled as you describe. I find it hard to believe that you are so completely satisfied with your work assignment and have more than enough time and resources to give magnificent care to your patients, that unions are obsolete. Lucky for you.

cabernet · May 11, 2010

This is what former Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch had to say about Allina in 2005, in testimony to a Senate Committee regarding excessive non-profit hospitals executive compensation. http://finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/mhtest040505.pdf

Excerpt:

"Allina paid for employee travel to destinations such as Aruba, London, Paris, Venice,

Grand Cayman, Athens, Cancun, Pago Pago, and Los Cabos. It paid for its president and his

wife to travel to Grand Cayman Island, including four nights at a five-star oceanfront resort

costing over $600 per night. It paid for over 30 trips to the Hawaiian Islands.

Allina paid $89,000 for its board members and executives, and their spouses, to travel to

the Phoenician Inn in Arizona. The Phoenician Inn boasts a $25 million art collection, marble

from the same Italian quarry that Michelangelo used for the Pieta, chocolate for "tuck in" service

flown in from Belgium three times per week, and a 22,000 square foot spa. Allina spent over

$14,000 on food and alcohol and over $4,500 on golf, tennis, and spas. One dinner alone cost

over $5,000. Executives charged the organization for $100 floral arrangements to decorate their

$855 per night suites. When we asked Allina to explain its "business purpose" for the trip, it

stated that the trip was designed to inspire discussions about "health care reform." Allina similarly paid $42,500 to send executives and their spouses to the LaQuinta Resort

in California, which promotes itself as "one of the most coveted golf resort destinations

anywhere in the world." They spent over $16,000 on golf, including over $2,000 in golf lessons,

$1,700 in spa charges, and $2,400 for a jeep tour.

On another occasion, Allina paid for its executives and spouses to take a three-day wine

tour of Napa Valley, complete with private limousines and hot air balloon rides. On yet another

occasion, it sent executives to Monterey, California, where they traveled in limousines and

expensed thousands of dollars in meals at the area's most exclusive restaurant. Allina stated that

the trip was designed to teach executives how to run a health care system with a "moral center."

The hospital administrator ordered an accounts payable clerk who questioned the propriety of the

expenses to pay the bills, noting that he doubted there was a "high exposure" of the media

learning about the junket.

Allina paid for private memberships for ten of its top executives in the Twin Cities' most

prestigious golf clubs. It reimbursed one executive $1,400 to analyze his handicap, polish his

golf clubs, and otherwise tend to similar needs.

Allina also spent thousands of dollars on executives' season and playoff tickets to the

Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Vikings, and Minnesota Twins.

Executives were reimbursed for lavish gifts to other executives and board members,

including $3,000 bronze sculptures, $1,300 golf clubs, and $600 Waterford crystal.

Executives were handsomely-paid. Allina offered executives approximately ten different

incentive and bonus plans to augment six-figure executive salaries by up to 150 percent. For401(k) plans, long-term incentive plans, supplemental retirement plans, and mutual fund

acquisition plans. The CEO in 1998 received compensation of over $900,000 per year.

Allina manipulated its bonus plans to guarantee that executives would qualify for

bonuses. For instance, Allina's management incentive plan required that it reach 80 percent of

its budgeted annual net income for bonuses to be paid. When it became clear that Allina would

not meet that target as the end of the year approached, Allina simply lowered the figure to 60

percent and paid $2.6 million in bonuses for which executives were ineligible.

Allina paid long-time executives over $1 million as "retention bonuses" for simply

remaining employees of Allina. The president, for instance, was promised a "signing bonus" of

$100,000 when he moved from one Allina affiliate to another and an additional $200,000 if he

remained an executive of Allina two years later. Allina then paid the executive the $200,000 one

year early.

Allina also spent tens of millions of dollars on consultants who failed to document their

time or expenses."

There is much more at the link. I doubt much has changed in 5 years. Tell me again why I work 12.5 hours with a potty or food break...

Leyla~ · May 11, 2010

Well, "nurse" leyla, our hospital IS proposing floating between hospitals. Your vehemently hate filled anti-union posts go beyond just being angry at being laid off. One would almost think these words came from one of many extremely well paid union busters posing as nurses. I can't imagine a fellow nurse would believe RN's are as pampered, greedy and spoiled as you describe. I find it hard to believe that you are so completely satisfied with your work assignment and have more than enough time and resources to give magnificent care to your patients, that unions are obsolete. Lucky for you.

Right. I joined these forums in March of 2009, just in case an opportunity like this should arise :uhoh3: Sorry, but we aren't all drinking the union kool-aid. The idea that we would have to float between hospitals was a fear-mongering extrapolation on the union's part.

I wish I were an "extremely well paid union buster." That's something I could be passionate about. I hate having to pay $600/year in legalized extortion fees to be allowed to have a job (it really costs them $7,680,000/year just to run the contract? And the hospitals are the greedy ones???). If unions are so damned amazing why can't they choose to let us join, or not, as we choose? I've had more problems because what I want to do is prohibited by the union (like having an education day following a night shift and being willing to take straight pay to do it). I've worked for state unions which only protected the lazy, and further burdened those of us with decent work ethic. Nurses in MN non-union hospitals feel that they are fairly compensated. How is that possible without the all-mighty union protecting them??

Would you care to provide any EVIDENCE that the union is willing to work with the hospitals towards negotiations? Any EVIDENCE that the actual proposed changes damage patient care? Any EVIDENCE that we will have pay cuts (even freezing the wage scale still includes a minimum 3% increase per year)? I'll even help you out and give you the link to Allina's original contract proposal, you just go ahead and let me know the page and paragraph where we can find info on hospital floating, wage cutting, etc.

And just for those who were curious, here's MNA's proposal. MNA also has a blog here which IMO highlights the propaganda-esque type of lack of information they are spreading to rally nurses to their cause.

I never said nursing was easy. I never said we don't have challenges with our patient assignments. I just don't buy that MNA has all the answers, I don't see how they have even remotely attempted to negotiate with the hospital systems. Plus their "updates" are so void of any actual information, void of any willingness on their part to work with the hospitals, it is a huge challenge for me to see them as really working towards negotiations.

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 12, 2010

I can tell you the union difference for wages. Do a search for RN in TX on the USA JOBS website. Starting pay for a VA nurse is between 42-49,000/year for an RN.

Tx-weak union state.

In MPLS MN a BSN will start at 60,869. at VAMC.

MN-Strong union state

Union advantage +15000 per year

My wages are directly comparable to an MNA members wages. Dues are yielding roughly a 20:1 payoff for improved wages let alone benefits.

In solidarity....

AprilRNurse · May 12, 2010

I can tell you the union difference for wages. Do a search for RN in TX on the USA JOBS website. Starting pay for a VA nurse is between 42-49,000/year for an RN.
Tx-weak union state.
In MPLS MN a BSN will start at 60,869. at VAMC.
MN-Strong union state
Union advantage +15000 per year
My wages are directly comparable to an MNA members wages. Dues are yielding roughly a 20:1 payoff for improved wages let alone benefits.
In solidarity....

Yes, but it truly isn't all about wages. We all want to be well compensated, there's nothing wrong with wanting that. But we also want to give good care, and still have a lisense at the end of the day. We want to be respected as professionals, and reimbursed for the work we do.

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 12, 2010

I just read Allinas proposal. It is in effect an attempt at gutting the contract. Every proposal reduces employee rights. The vacation bank reductions alone were instructive.

700 to 500 hours over 3 years. The best protection against financial woes in case of illness is plenty of time off. 700 hours is roughly 4 months of FT work. Protects the benefits and the economic status of workers. That 200 hour reduction reduces the economic security of nurses.

With the aging nursing work force the likelihood of nurses needing this time for extended injury/illness will only increase.

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 12, 2010

Yes, but it truly isn't all about wages. We all want to be well compensated, there's nothing wrong with wanting that. But we also want to give good care, and still have a lisense at the end of the day. We want to be respected as professionals, and reimbursed for the work we do.

I absolutely agree with you. My post was deliberately limited to wage premium issues. The staffing level language was very appropriate IMO and I believe that Allina wants to reduce the protections for patients and nurses.

AprilRNurse · May 12, 2010

I'm truly shocked at what they are proposing. The rural hospital where I work has very good staffing ratios. We also receive some of the best reviews within Allina, had the fewest falls, and were told we basically did the best financially last year. Hmm...doesn't that in itself show them something?? I've very rarely felt unsafe at work, but when I've been to training in the cities..and been told the issues those nurses deal with-I'm floored! How can they not look at our hosptial and see the success of good staffing??

So..seeing Allina trying to make it worse for those nurses...and our contract being up for negotiation in the fall- I can't help but to feel for the nurses dealing with negotiations (or lack thereof) right now.

Chico David, BSN, RN · May 12, 2010

I'm truly shocked at what they are proposing. The rural hospital where I work has very good staffing ratios. We also receive some of the best reviews within Allina, had the fewest falls, and were told we basically did the best financially last year. Hmm...doesn't that in itself show them something?? I've very rarely felt unsafe at work, but when I've been to training in the cities..and been told the issues those nurses deal with-I'm floored! How can they not look at our hosptial and see the success of good staffing??
So..seeing Allina trying to make it worse for those nurses...and our contract being up for negotiation in the fall- I can't help but to feel for the nurses dealing with negotiations (or lack thereof) right now.

As someone involved with a union at a national level, I can tell you that the strategy is clearly being coordinated across the country by the hospitals - the proposals are too similar in too many places. In the last 20 years, union power, helped along by market conditions has allowed nurses to make major gains in compensation, working conditions and patient protections. Now we have a temporary change in the market conditions and the industry is seizing on that as a chance to try to roll back all those 20 years worth of gains and take us back to a bygone era. It is only the strength of nurses standing together that will stop that. The nurses and allied professionals at Temple did a heroic job of that and I expect the same from the Twin Cities nurses. And we should all be grateful to them for their courage.

pollywogrn · May 12, 2010

hi zimsaint,

what ca agency contacted you? and do most agencies pay the same when its a strike? any other recommendations? thanks, pollywogrn