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.
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.