"The bottom line is, the executives at the bargaining table have made it clear to us that management does not trust its nurses with the well-being and safety of our patients," said Steve Strand, an RN at SMDC. "It\'s ironic considering nurses are the most trusted professionals in the United States. And we are not asking for anything costly, outrageous or unusual."
The Duluth RNs are members of the Minnesota Nurses Association.
In addition to the 900 nurses at SMDC, 420 RNs at St. Luke\'s Hospital in Duluth are also in the midst of contract bargaining and so far have been unable to reach an agreement. While SMDC nurses have no more negotiating sessions scheduled, St. Luke\'s RNs will meet one final time with management Aug. 16 to try and work out an agreement. Both groups of nurses will vote on Aug. 18 to either ratify their contract offers or else authorize a one-day strike at each facility.
Duluth RNs are seeking the same contractual rights to advocate for their patients that Twin Cities nurses already have: First, to be allowed to temporarily close a hospital unit when it is no longer safe to admit additional patients. Second, to be able to refuse additional patient assignments when a nurse’s patient load has reached an unsafe level.
"Business executives at SMDC are refusing to allow nurses to do our duty – as dictated by the Minnesota Board of Nursing and our profession itself – of advocating for our patients," Strand said. "What Duluth Nurses are asking for is reasonable, and in our negotiations we attempted to bargain in good faith to implement some concessions that would allow the cost to be minimized for the changes necessary. Should Nurses in the Northland be treated differently than our counterparts in the Twin Cities when it comes to safety issues? Should our patients, for that matter?"
With there already being a critical nursing shortage at SMDC - resulting in hundreds of open and unfilled RN shifts each month - Strand said SMDC nurses need some kind of protection in their contract when it comes to caring and advocating for patients.
"As nurses, we live this every day," he said. "We know better than anyone when it is or isn\'t safe on our unit. As the people directly responsible for your well-being when you come into our hospital, we want to make sure you get the safest care possible. Doesn’t that seem like a rational, reasonable thing to ask of the executives who employ us and expect us to guarantee your safety as our patients? Why can\'t they see that they will be patients too?"
St. Luke\'s RN Cindy Prout said that by not addressing critical patient safety issues, executives are leaving nurses with no option other than recommending the vote to authorize a one-day strike.
"If you listen to the stories coming out of the hospital, you know that we don\'t have any other choice," she said. "Our first contract is with the public - to care for them, keep them safe and advocate for them."
Reprinted from the MNA website.
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"The bottom line is, the executives at the bargaining table have made it clear to us that management does not trust its nurses with the well-being and safety of our patients," said Steve Strand, an RN at SMDC. "It\’s ironic considering nurses are the most trusted professionals in the United States. And we are not asking for anything costly, outrageous or unusual."
The Duluth RNs are members of the Minnesota Nurses Association.
In addition to the 900 nurses at SMDC, 420 RNs at St. Luke\’s Hospital in Duluth are also in the midst of contract bargaining and so far have been unable to reach an agreement. While SMDC nurses have no more negotiating sessions scheduled, St. Luke\’s RNs will meet one final time with management Aug. 16 to try and work out an agreement. Both groups of nurses will vote on Aug. 18 to either ratify their contract offers or else authorize a one-day strike at each facility.
Duluth RNs are seeking the same contractual rights to advocate for their patients that Twin Cities nurses already have: First, to be allowed to temporarily close a hospital unit when it is no longer safe to admit additional patients. Second, to be able to refuse additional patient assignments when a nurse’s patient load has reached an unsafe level.
"Business executives at SMDC are refusing to allow nurses to do our duty – as dictated by the Minnesota Board of Nursing and our profession itself – of advocating for our patients," Strand said. "What Duluth Nurses are asking for is reasonable, and in our negotiations we attempted to bargain in good faith to implement some concessions that would allow the cost to be minimized for the changes necessary. Should Nurses in the Northland be treated differently than our counterparts in the Twin Cities when it comes to safety issues? Should our patients, for that matter?"
With there already being a critical nursing shortage at SMDC – resulting in hundreds of open and unfilled RN shifts each month – Strand said SMDC nurses need some kind of protection in their contract when it comes to caring and advocating for patients.
"As nurses, we live this every day," he said. "We know better than anyone when it is or isn\’t safe on our unit. As the people directly responsible for your well-being when you come into our hospital, we want to make sure you get the safest care possible. Doesn’t that seem like a rational, reasonable thing to ask of the executives who employ us and expect us to guarantee your safety as our patients? Why can\’t they see that they will be patients too?"
St. Luke\’s RN Cindy Prout said that by not addressing critical patient safety issues, executives are leaving nurses with no option other than recommending the vote to authorize a one-day strike.
"If you listen to the stories coming out of the hospital, you know that we don\’t have any other choice," she said. "Our first contract is with the public – to care for them, keep them safe and advocate for them."
Reprinted from the MNA website.