New Delegate

The Delegate Assembly has appointed Larry Buenaffe, a longstanding night nurse on 7 Uris, to fill a delegate vacancy. Welcome Larry! If you need a delegate on nights, you know where to find him.

Grievances and Arbitrations

• NYPNU has negotiated an agreement with management that will finally ensure adequate monitor coverage on all telemetry floors. The agreement provides for a monitor RN on 7 East/7 Lachman as of 1/29/07 and on 9 East/ 9 Lachman as of 2/4/07. Each RN on 5 Lachman will be given an individual StatView pager connected only to her/his own patients no later than 3/5/07. By 5/23/07 monitor techs will be piloted on 7 East/7 Lachman and CCU/5 Lachman. The CCU charge nurse will then be freed from watching the monitors but will continue to have no patient assignment. In exchange for immediate implementation of this agreement, we agreed to postpone the arbitration scheduled for January 24th. If they do not comply, the arbitration will go forward.
• The Union filed for arbitration on behalf of an RN who was terminated without just cause and without due process.
• In settlement of a class action grievance filed by NYPNU, the Administration has agreed to cut separate checks for the nontaxable portion of tuition reimbursement (currently $5,250 per calendar year). It is to the employee’s advantage to have the taxable portion included in the regular paycheck. Otherwise, it is taxed as “supplemental wages” at a rate of 40% or more.

Attendance Excellence Incentive Program

Beginning in January 2007, full-time RNs will be eligible to participate in a Pilot Attendance Excellence Incentive Program. This Pilot will continue for one year. If the results demonstrate a reduction in absenteeism, the Pilot will be continued for the duration of the collective bargaining agreement.

Full-time RNs with perfect attendance during a six month period (January-June and July-December) will have two opportunities to win a cash award. Full-time RNs on a 9.5 or 11.5 hour shift, who have two or less sick or absent days, and full-time RNs on 7.5 hour shifts, who have three or less sick or absent days in the six-month period, will have one opportunity to win the cash award. Any unexcused absences render an employee ineligible to participate.

For every 50 RNs who are eligible to participate in this Pilot program based upon the parameters above, one nurse will win a cash award of $2,500 based on a random selection process.

Know Your Clinical Division

On 1/5/07 NYPNU filed a class action grievance on behalf of several CCU RNs who were required to float to the ICU, which is outside their clinical division. While management may ask you to float outside of your division, you cannot be required to do so.

Under the contract, an RN whose turn it is to float shall not be required to float outside her/his Clinical Division unless (1) after collaboration with a Clinical ADN regarding her/his previous experience or competency, the RN agrees to float, or (2) the RN has previously signed up for voluntary overtime on the unit to which she/he is floating.

Moreover, an RN who agrees to float to a unit outside her/his Clinical Division will not be required to assume full responsibility for a designated group of patients, unless the RN has previously signed up for voluntary overtime on the unit to which she/he is floating.