New York Nurses Set April Strike Date At 3 Hospital Systems
Registered nurses at three New York healthcare systems issued a 10-day strike notice on Monday, amid claims of unsafe working conditions caused by inadequate staffing, according to a recent union press release. New York State Nurses Association members delivered the strike notice to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Montefiore, and Mount Sinai hospitals and set the strike date for April 2. The strike could affect more than 10,000 nurses at the three hospitals, according to the union, which have been in contract negotiations for several months with the New York City Hospital Alliance. More than 8,000 members of the nurses union voted earlier this month to authorize a strike if necessary. Union contracts at the facilities ended on December 31, but both parties have met about 30 times at barganing sessions with limited progress, according to an ABC 7 NY report. “Now is the time that all New Yorkers must have what they need and deserve,” Robin Krinsky, RN, NYSNA Board Member and negotiating committee member at Mount Sinai, said in a NYSNA Facebook post. “Safe patient care by educated professional nurses who know how to provide excellent care each and every time a patient requires it.” The union claims nurses are working with anywhere from 9 to 10 patients at at once, and has protested in support of legislation that would establish mandated nurse-to-patient ratios. A “Safe Staffing For Quality Care Act” bill that would establish mandated ratios statewide was reintroduced during this year’s legislative session, and is currently in committee for review. Advocates have pushed for mandated ratios since 2009, when a version of the bill was first introduced.
New York, Rhode Island Nursing Unions Vote To Authorize Strikes
Members of registered nurse unions in New York and Rhode Island have both voted to allow union representatives to issue 10-day strike notices if necessary, according to recent reports. United Nurses & Allied Professionals (UNAP) members in Rhode Island voted Wednesday to authorize a strike notice for Fatima Hospital, located in northern Providence. Workers want to bring attention to what they claim is a lack of commitment to patient and worker safety under Prospect CharterCARE, according to a WPRI report. Fatima Hospital is an affiliate of Prospect CharterCARE. “We don’t take this step lightly and we realize what’s at stake for each other, our patients and the community we are proudly a part of,” Cindy Fenchel, president of UNAP Local 5110 said to WPRI. “It’s time for Prospect CharterCARE to come to the table and make substantive commitments on improving patient care and strengthening worker safety.” In New York, more than 8,000 members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) voted to authorize a 10-day strike notice amid ongoing contract negotiations with New York City Hospital Alliance, according to a recent blog post. The collective bargaining agreement between the two organizations ended on December 31. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Montefiore, Mt. Sinai, Mt. Sinai West, and St. Luke’s hospitals are involved in the negotiations, and a potential strike could affect an estimated 10,000 nurses at those facilities. Nurses held open protests against the 13 facilities in February over what they claim are unsafe working conditions and inadequate staffing levels. New York City Hospital Alliance disputes these claims and said NYSNA has not provided a “single shred of evidence” to support this claim, according to a CBS WLNY report. “We have remained committed to bargaining in good faith and have put forward a significant proposal that demonstrates the value we place on our nurses, who are the best in the business and should be rewarded for their essential role in the delivery of excellent care,” Farrell Sklerov, a spokesperson for the Hospital Alliance told WLNY.
At Least 40 Hospital Labor Disputes Made Headlines In 2018
At least 40 hospital labor disputes ranging from heated contract bargaining debates to extended strikes occurred in 2018, according to a recent analysis by Healthcare Dive. Here are the key takeaways from hospital labor disputes in 2018. Most of the disputes occurred in heavy union or non-“right to work” states. Based on Healthcare Dive’s analysis, most of the hospital labor disputes that garnered media attention occurred in the Northeastern and Western regions of the U.S. California had the most labor disputes on the West Coast at 13, while Pennsylvania had the most in the Northeast with seven. California and many of the states in the Northeast have the highest union participation in the country. New York, which has the highest number of union-affiliated employees in the country at 25.3 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, had two major disputes this year. Florida and Texas were the only two states with major labor disputes in 2018 that are not in the top 20 states in terms of union members. Both states were involved in a potential strike at 15 HCA-owned facilities in September, but the facilities involved reached an agreement in October, according to a National Nurses United press release. Nurses were involved in the most labor disputes Out of the 40 healthcare labor disputes listed in Healthcare Dive’s analysis, 21 of them were led primarily by nurses and nurse unions, 18 had a mix of medical and non-medical staff, and one was led by healthcare technicians. Unsafe staffing, low or uncompetitive wages and lack of benefits were cited as the primary concerns for most of the labor disputes. July was the busiest month for healthcare labor disputes in 2018 At least eight major healthcare labor disputes occurred in July this year across the country, according to the analysis. Among those was a three-day strike by workers in Rhode Island against the Providence-based healthcare system Lifespan. Picketers at MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada and Corpus Christi Medical Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, would later vote to approve a strike at 15 HCA-affiliated hospitals in September. To see Healthcare Dive’s full analysis of labor disputes in 2018, click here. You can find our strike and protest coverage for 2018 in the list below: Union nurses vote to authorize strike at Michigan Medicine (Sept. 21) National Nurses United members at 15 hospitals authorize strike (Sept. 5) Rhode Island healthcare workers strike begins; Lifespan spends $10M on temp staff (July 23) Kaiser healthcare workers plan new round of protests at California facilities (May 1) Kaiser proposes change to national labor partnership amid union fractures, continued protests (May 15)
Union nurses vote to authorize strike at Michigan Medicine
Nurses at Michigan Medicine, based out of Ann Arbor and affiliated with the University of Michigan, voted last week to authorize a three-day strike “in protest of the University’s unfair labor practices.” No date for the strike has been set, but the vote allows the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council (UMPNC) bargaining team to submit a 10-day strike notice if they feel it’s necessary, according to the union’s statement. “Our goal is not a work stoppage,” said Katie Oppenheim, RN and chair of UMPNC in the statement. “Our goal is a fair agreement which respects nurses and guarantees safe staffing. The University can remedy this situation immediately, by stopping their unfair labor practices and bargaining in good faith.” Of the approximately 5,000 nurses represented by the UMPNC, an affiliate of the Michigan Nurses Association, more than 4,000 voted last week to authorize a strike. Nurses at the facility have worked without a contract since it expired on June 30 this year. UMPNC and university officials began contract negotiations in January but have struggled to lock down a new agreement. A state mediator joined the bargaining table on July 10 to help parties reach a final agreement, but little progress has been made. “We are disappointed that our UMPNC nurses have voted to approve a strike,” said Mary Masson, director of public relations for Michigan Medicine. “We have been bargaining in good faith since January and have offered a competitive package.” If nurses decide to initiate a strike, the Michigan Medicine legal team is prepared to pursue legal action because “it is illegal for public employees to strike,” the university said in their bargaining update Tuesday. Michigan Medicine is also prepared to bring in temporary nursing staff if a strike notice is issued and “has been developing contingency plans in the event of a strike.” The union main complaints, according to the statement, include: failing to bargain in good faith, including over terms and conditions of employment; making changes in work shifts without notifying or negotiating with the union; and discriminating against union members who are engaged in legally protected speech in support of their right to collective bargaining. UMPNC filed four unfair labor practice charges with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission about these issues on September 12.
Rhode Island Healthcare Workers Strike Begins; Lifespan Spends $10M On Temp Staff
Last-minute negotiations failed for a third time early Monday morning between Providence-based healthcare system Lifespan and healthcare union workers in the midst of a planned 3 p.m. strike. United Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Local 5098 rejected the contract proposal from Providence-based healthcare company Lifespan early Monday morning. The Rhode Island healthcare workers strike is planned to end on July 26 at 3 p.m. Negotiations between Lifespan and the union are scheduled to continue while the strike is underway. “This is a difficult day for all of us,” said UNAP Local 5098 president Frank Sims in a press release. “Lifespan is a broken system where wealthy executives make millions and front line caregivers are ordered to do more with less, and until that changes, patient care will continue to be adversely impacted.” Lifespan officials have planned for the strikes at Rhode Island and Hasbro Children’s hospitals for weeks, hiring temporary workers costing at least $10 million to cover needs at the facilities. The Department of Health activated an “incident command center” to monitor staffing levels, patient care and possible surges due to patient diversions to other hospitals, director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said in a Monday morning press conference. “Rhode Island Hospital’s emergency department will continue to accept all walk-ins,” Alexander-Scott said. “However, EMS throughout the state will only be transporting trauma, burn, cardiac and respiratory arrest and pediatric cases to the Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro’s hospital EDs. [EMS] will transport other patients to the other hospitals [EDs] throughout the state.” You can view live coverage of the ongoing strikes from the Twitter feed below. This story will be updated as it develops. Tweets by WeAreUNAP
Rhode Island Healthcare Union Delivers Strike Notice, Sets Date
United Nurses & Allied Professionals Local 5098 issued a 10-day strike notice on Friday to Rhode Island and Hasbro Children’s hospitals and plan to strike starting July 23, according to a press release from the union. Healthcare professionals with the union plan to strike for three days, ending at 3 p.m. on July 26 with an unconditional agreement to return to work. UNAP Local 5098 represents 2,400 healthcare workers at the two Lifespan facilities, according to the release. Lifespan owns both Rhode Island and Hasbro Children’s hospitals and is the state’s largest hospital system. “We do not take this step lightly and urge Lifespan executives to return to the bargaining table as quickly as possible so that a fair and competitive deal may be reached,” Local union president Frank Sims said in the press release. UNAP Local 5098 has issued a 10-day strike notice to @RIHospital pic.twitter.com/YxIr2PVZNs — UNAP (@WeAreUNAP) July 13, 2018 Rhode Island Hospital issued a statement in response to the strike notice to “assure” state residents that “Rhode Island Hospital is fully prepared for this possible work action.” “Patient care is our highest priority,” the statement reads. “In the event of a strike, we will have contract labor to assist us in meeting our commitment to our patients and our community.” UNAP Local 5098 issued the strike notice as a result of last Thursday’s rejection of a contract proposal between the union and Lifespan. In the rejection statement, Sims said unions members rejected a deal that “devalues the critical role they play in providing world-class healthcare at Rhode Island’s only Level I trauma hospital.” “Lifespan’s short-sighted and punitive policies on everything from safe staffing to sick time have a direct correlation to the remarkably high turnover rate we experience at Rhode Island Hospital,” Sims said. “Health professionals are leaving at unprecedented rates because Lifespan fails to give caregivers the tools we need to do our jobs and offers a compensation and benefit package that is not fair to all healthcare workers.” Union nurses and technical staff at Rhode Island Hospital are among the highest compensated in the state, according to the hospital website. Currently, UNAP members with 10 years of experience or less are guaranteed 3.5 or 4 percent annual salary increases as part of the hospital’s compensation program. In the rejected proposal, the hospital planned to add another 3.5 percent in the first year of the contract, 2.25 percent in the second year and two percent in the third year. The hospital brought in a federal mediator to help reach a potential agreement before the strike date, according to their statement.
Rhode Island Hospital Workers To Submit Strike Notice After Rejecting Contract Proposal
Unionized healthcare professionals at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital voted Thursday to reject a contract proposal from their parent company Lifespan and plan to issue a 10-day strike notice, according to a report from Providence Journal. Members of United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5098 sent out a press release about Thursday’s vote to reject the tentative contract proposal. UNAP Local 5098 president Frank Sims said in the release that voting members rejected a “deal that devalues the critical role they play in providing world-class healthcare at Rhode Island’s only Level I trauma hospital.” UNAP Local 5098 members have voted to reject the contract offer from Lifespan and will issue a 10-day strike notice in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/ijwaWs0pKN — UNAP (@WeAreUNAP) July 13, 2018 Hospital officials responded Friday morning in a statement to Providence Journal and said they are “disappointed” by the vote on the three-year contract proposal, but that the hospital is “fully prepared to adequately staff our hospital and meet the needs of our patients.” Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital represent two of the largest acute-care facilities in the state. Additionally, Hasbro is the only Level 1 Trauma facility in the region, according to their website. You can read the full Providence Journal report here.
How To Reach The Elusive $100K Travel Nurse Salary
One of the most pervasive myths in travel healthcare is the potential to earn a six-figure travel nurse salary while jet-setting across the country. It certainly sounds appealing, and plenty of recruiters or agencies will try to sell you with that exact same message–but do you actually have that much earning potential as a traveler? Here’s our semi-short breakdown of five tips you can follow to earn your way towards $100k. If you just got off a brutal shift and five tips are way more than you want to read right now, click here to skip to the summary with our take on the issue. 1. Find cold weather, small towns and high-paying states Earning the most as a traveler often means going where the money leads, regardless of the location or harshness of season weather. This means you’ll be headed north in the winter, swapping with the “snowbirds” in states like Illinois or Wisconsin to cover gaps in staffing. It can also mean working in small towns and underserved locations that have trouble recruiting travelers, retaining staff nurses or that just aren’t that popular destinations. Generally, working where people can’t, don’t or won’t will earn you more through potential bonuses and higher pay packages. You also need to be aware of what state offer routinely high pay packages year-round, like California, Texas and Massachusetts. Peppering in jobs from these states can help boost your earning potential. 2. Work when everyone isn’t Not many people want to work during the holiday season from November to January, so jumping on a short-term holiday contract is a great way to build your travel nurse salary. Holiday pay typically matches overtime rates. Speaking of overtime, adding in extra shifts is always an easy way to get more money from a travel assignment, so look for overtime opportunities when you can. Important note: Make sure you know the exact overtime stipulations of your contract before committing to more hours. Some hospitals may not offer overtime pay that matches up exactly with state laws. Some agencies may offer “blended” bill rates–which has no difference in pay between regular and overtime hours–in states that charge overtime when working more than eight hours a day, as opposed to 40 hours per week. You should be able to discuss these details clearly with your recruiter. 3. Always take the housing stipend If you’ve established a tax home and are eligible to take a tax-free housing stipend instead of using company housing, taking the stipend means more money in your pocket in most cases. It can be a bit risky and a huge hassle, since the task of finding housing now lands on your shoulders, but you can often find housing that’s less than the total stipend, letting you save the extra cash. There are tons of online resources (Airbnb is very popular among travelers) to find quick, affordable housing. You can check the rates for per diems, along with meals and incidentals by state by visiting the General Services Administration website. This shows the maximum rate offered by location, not the general rate, but it can still help you gauge how much you may receive for an assignment. 4. Look for rapid response or strike opportunities Nurses who stay flexible with their assignments can make great money responding to strikes or other unexpected staffing problems at a hospital. Crisis rate pay packages are often significantly higher than standard, adding up to $10 or more per hour to your pay. Keep in mind these jobs are fleeting and tough–you may get to the job to find the situation has resolved itself before you’ve even started, and you must have all necessary compliance docs ready at a moment’s notice to jump on job opportunities. You also won’t get tons of flexibility on job shifts, since you’re there to help during a critical period. 5. Specialize Nursing specialties that are more in demand or require extensive training will often pay more. Specialty bill rates between hospitals and agencies range from 2 to 10 percent higher than standard rates, which means higher pay packages overall. Specialties that commonly see these higher rates are ICU, L&D, CathLab, ER, OR, PICU, NICU and CVICU. Standard rates are associated with more common positions like Medical/Surgical, PSYCH, PEDS and Postpartum. Our summary If you skipped to the bottom, here’s the short answer if you want to make $100,000 a year as a travel nurse. Work as much as you can; at every available opportunity; in places you may have never wanted to visit; in economical housing; in extreme weather climates; during most holidays; with the lowest amount of downtime possible; in difficult or highly specialized positions. Also ignore the fact that a portion of those wages will go towards insurance, travel, compliance and tax home expenses, regardless of whether they are offered by your agency. If that’s not an ideal answer, it’s certainly not an ideal situation. There are travel nurses out there who do earn up to $100,000 a year, but they will be the first to tell you it’s not easy. It’s up to you to realistically decide what you want from your travel nurse career, and your recruiter and agency should be there to help you make informed decisions at every turn.
Kaiser proposes change to national labor partnership amid nursing union fractures, continued protests
Negotiations between healthcare company Kaiser Permanente and members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (CKPU) remain tense as nurses across the state continue the third and final week of planned protests at Kaiser-owned California facilities. Members of both parties met on May 7 to discuss details of the Coalition’s Labor Management Partnership, which was established between Kaiser and CKPU in 1997. Kaiser presented their new potential blueprints for this partnership, which would focus on individual bargaining with local union contracts expiring in 2018 or those who are entitled to wage reopeners, according to a company press release. The company plans to maintain provisions of existing agreements while bargaining new contracts, according to the release. “We asked union leadership to review our proposed improvements to the partnership agreement and provide feedback,” the company said in the press release. “The next step is to work in partnership with labor to have a final version of a new partnership agreement in the coming weeks.” CKPU fired back against the new bargaining format, saying the proposal represents a “top-down, unilateral” move that limits the coalition’s ability to negotiate under unified terms. “The unions of the Coalition are completely committed to Partnership and the great work we’ve done together, but any changes to the Partnership need to be discussed in national bargaining,” said Walter Allen, executive director of Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 30 in a press release. Healthcare workers at Kaiser Antelope Valley say, “Get your priorities straight, Kaiser! You made a 22% increase in profits from 2016-2017 — but you’re still trying to outsource jobs and lower wage scales.” #HealthcareJustice @BernardJTyson @RamonfBaez @DrRichardIsaacs pic.twitter.com/nAtauqza5D — SEIU-UHW (@seiu_uhw) May 10, 2018 In the meantime, California Kaiser workers will continue to picket healthcare facilities regarding claims of job outsourcing and layoffs until the end of the week. “I am confident our members will take unified action to say enough is enough,” said Ron Ruggiero, president of SEIU Local 105 in a release. “We deserve a great new contract and any partnership worth its name must be on equal terms. Our union, and our Coalition, are clear that this is what we are fighting for.” Union disputes delay contract negotiations The longstanding terms of the partnership, as well as the original dates for the National Bargaining, were thrown into disarray in March after more than half of the local nursing unions split from the CKPU one day before negotiations were scheduled to occur. Twenty one local unions with about 45,000 members split from CKPU, forming a new union called the Alliance of Health Care Unions (AHCU), according to a report from nwLaborPress. The remaining 13 unions in the CKPU still retain more than 80,000 members, most of which are based out of California. During a union meeting in 2017, SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), the largest union in CKPU, pushed for more influence over CKPU decisions making. Additionally, SEIU-UHW made aggressive moves against Kaiser without overall CKPU approval, negotiating in private meetings and threatening to push contract issues to voters with a ballot initiative. Members of the newly formed AHCU said they had good partnerships with Kaiser and wanted to continue those relationships while still maintaining a unified voice–outside of the influence of unions still a part of the CKPU. The new union’s executive director Peter diCicco, founder and executive director of the original CKPU from 1997 to 2006, said joining AHCU feels like coming home. “But we’ve got our work cut out for us,” diCicco said in a press release. “We’re working to establish a new structure that builds on what worked best with the prior coalition, while addressing internal coalition issues that became obvious in recent years and ultimately drove the creation of this new Alliance.” The AHCU has not announced their plans for negotiating with Kaiser, but the potential is there for a compromise that satisfies both parties. The California Nurses Association, a union with National Nurses United that’s separate from the CKPU, successfully negotiated a tentative contract with Kaiser in April with provisions targeting staffing enhancements, wage increases and employee benefits.
#NursesTakeDC movement closes on third year, continues push for safe nurse-patient ratios
For the third consecutive year, hundreds of nurses took to the lawn of the U.S. Capitol building this week as part of the #NursesTakeDC movement, whose goal is to raise public awareness of unsafe nurse-patient ratios and push legislation to regulate the issue. I’m rallying with #nursestakedc today in front of the Capitol to demand safe staffing ratios. Safe staffing saves lives. pic.twitter.com/yNvDjDZuJG — Jan Schakowsky (@janschakowsky) April 26, 2018 The grassroots movement has grown each year in both the number of speakers in the industry and number of attendees who support it. The movement’s goal is to combat unsafe staffing practices at hospitals, which contributes to nursing burnout, lower quality patient care and a higher risk of patient death, according to the Nurses Take DC website. Several studies have gone into the impact of high nursing-patient ratios over the years. One of the most recently published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information looking at ICU patient ratios found that “exposing critically ill patients to high workload/staffing ratios is associated with a substantial reduction in the odds of survival.” A major goal of the campaign is to lean on federal legislators to move forward with the Nurse Staffing Standards and Quality Care Act of 2017 (S. 1063 and H.R. 2392), which would amend the Public Health Service Act to establish safe nurse-patient staffing ratios across all hospitals, according to their website. Did you know @SenSanders @BernieSanders is a sponsor of safe staffing levels!? We need more sponsors…how about @SenBooker & @SenatorMenendez ?? #S1063 #safestaffing @nursestakedc https://t.co/d9G9tmjGZZ — HPAE (@hpaeaft) April 26, 2018 The bill is modeled after similar legislation for ICU nurses in California and Massachusetts, which are currently the only states with established laws limiting nurse-patient ratios. Along with establishing minimum ratios, the bill would protect “whistleblowers” who speak out against unsafe staffing conditions from being terminated, according to a press release. @SenSherrodBrown @SenWarren @SenSanders @janschakowsky @RepGutierrez @RepBobbyRush @RepMikeQuigley @keithellison @RepYvetteClarke Come out Thursday 4/26 Permit Area 1, west side of Capitol, to meet thousands of nurses. pic.twitter.com/bLaosNTf1u — Doris BSN RN-BC CCRC (@DorisCarrollRN) April 21, 2018 The bill was introduced in 2017 during the last #NursesTakeDC rally on May 5 but stalled quickly after being introduced in the House and Senate. Part of the movement’s strategies this year was to educate nurses on how to effectively lobby legislators about the issue. If you would like to learn more about the Nurses Take DC movement, visit NursesTakeDC.com #NursesTakeDC Tweets