Nurse/Patient Ratios Enforcement Campaign
The new Nurse/Patient Ratios negotiated in our last contract are in effect as of January 1st. Moreover, our ratios are now subject to binding arbitration on a hospital-wide basis. In the event arbitration becomes necessary, it is essential that the Union has accurate records of staffing numbers on a shift by shift basis. One RN per shift must record the number of RNs and patients on the unit's Monthly Staffing Form. Our ability to hold the Hospital to its contractual obligations is up to you!
Rumor Control: Despite assertions to the contrary, there was no meeting at which the Union was asked to waive the nurse/patient ratios for the day. The Union has worked very hard to achieve these minimum nurse/patient ratios and has no intention of waiving them.
Political Action
The first Political Action Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday January 26th at 9:30 am in the NYPNU office. This time will hopefully accommodate nurses from both shifts. The main items on the agenda will be setting our health care policy priorities and coordinating our efforts with the Working Families Party. All NYPNU members are welcome to attend! If you are interested in participating, please call Naomi at 212-988-5565.
Grievances and Unit Issues
A class action grievance was filed on 9/8/04 regarding access to available LHH housing. The hospital has not scheduled a hearing on this matter, and the delegates voted to take the issue to arbitration.
A class action grievance regarding mandatory overtime in EPS was heard on 10/7/04. The hospital has failed to respond in a timely fashion to this grievance. The Union has filed for arbitration.
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NYPNU filed a class action grievance on behalf of RNs who transferred from MEETH to LHH prior to the merger in 2000. In November 2003 the Union and the Hospital signed a settlement agreement in which the nurses' seniority date was to be their MEETH date of hire (DOH). Management did not use that date for vacation accrual purposes in 2004 prompting the current grievance. On January 13th the Hospital verbally agreed to use the MEETH DOH for vacation accrual purposes. We are awaiting confirmation in writing.
A class action grievance was filed on behalf of 4 Lachman/4 East nurses who have been required to float out of turn. On December 30th a 4 Lachman/4 East nurse reported to work despite severe abdominal pain because she did not want to leave the hospital short staffed the day before a holiday. A nurse was required to float off the unit that day and, because this nurse was 10 minutes late, R. Ravenell, Nurse Manager, mandated that she float out of turn. Another nurse on the unit had already floated; Ms. Ravenell sent an aide to bring her back so that the ill nurse could take her place. The grievant was eventually sent home and denied pay for the day.
A nurse was injured when a code cart's missing nuts and bolts caused the monitor to fall off the cart. The Union asked the Hospital to check all code carts for nuts and bolts, and we have been assured that the problem has been addressed. For your own safety, please check to make sure that the monitor is secure before moving code carts. In addition, the matter has been referred to the Environment of Care (Safety) Committee.
Tsunami Relief Effort
NYPNU has sent a donation to UNICEF on behalf of all LHH and MEETH staff RNs.
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