Tag Archives: Hibbing Nurses

MNA Daily NewsScan: May 9, 2012 – Rahm Against The Machine, Leave Lori Alone and NYT Reporters Speak Out

9 May

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan is a round up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Health Care

  • Rahm Emanuel vs. Lori Swanson, Round 1: Unexpected challenge from Chicago’s Mayor to Minnesota’s Attorney General takes center stage in the ongoing Accretive Health investigation, and MNA weighs in via Minnesota Public Radio.
  • Every Last Penny: Hospitals are suing patients for nominal amounts – even if they are likely to qualify for charity care.

Notes on Nursing

Labor Updates

  • Rahm Against The Machine? National Nurses United is calling an emergency press conference today at Noon to address the last-minute decision by Chicago’s mayor to undo months of planning and preparation regarding a planned rally in the city on May 18th. The event – part of NNU’s upcoming Staff Nurse Assembly in Chicago – is to feature NNU and MNA RNs, along with former Rage Against The Machine Guitarist (and Union activist) Tom Morello, along with other organizations and protestors gathering in support of the Main Street Contract.
  • New York Times Journalists Speak Out: Reporters, Writers demand resolution as contract negotiations drag on. (Video below)

MNA Daily NewsScan: May 7, 2012 – Happy National Nurses Week, Video Explanation of NNU-championed Financial Transaction Tax

7 May

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan is a round up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Notes on Nursing

  • Happy National Nurses Day! U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is among those voicing their thanks for the work nurses do each and every day.

Labor Updates

  • Video: Featuring an interview with National Nurses United Executive Director  Rose Ann DeMoro, Real News Network details the growing movement for a Financial Transaction Tax, which has been championed from the beginning by NNU. Watch below:

RNs Reach Labor Agreement in 10 Florida Hospitals    After drawn-out negotiations, registered nurses have reached a first-ever collective bargaining agreement with 10 Florida hospitals that are part of Hospital Corporation of America, including Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Blake Medical Center in Bradenton and Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte.

MNA Daily NewsScan: May 4, 2012 – Albert Lea RNs Spotlighted, CEOs called out, Tips on RN-Doc Relationships

4 May

What is this? The MNA Daily NewsScan is a round up the day’s biggest nursing, health care and organized labor stories.  As news unfolds in real-time, we update the NewsScan with new links and info, so check back often!

Stories we’re scanning:

Health Care

  • Op/Ed: CEOs, it’s time to take ownership of the problems at your hospitals.

Notes on Nursing

Labor Updates

  • Albert Lea RNs Talk About Walks: The Albert Lea Tribune published MNA Nurse Kathleen Lehman’s detailed Letter to the Editor explaining why Albert Lea RNs have been taking to the streets in recent weeks as they fight for a fair contract.
  • California Nurses Make Noise: Thousands of California Nurses took to the streets this week as part of a one-day strike for patient safety and the nursing profession. Take a look at some of the highlights below:

Photo: On the Strike Line – MNA Style!

20 Jul

Hibbing RN Rachelle Pucelj on the strike line.

This photo of Hibbing Nurse Rachelle Pucelj on the strike line last week is awesome! To me it says everything you need to know about how passionate MNA Nurses are when it comes to protecting our patients and our profession!

Hibbing Strike: Video Stories

18 Jul

Nurses and supporters share firsthand stories from last week’s picket line in Hibbing, Minnesota, where MNA RNs conducted a three-day strike for patient safety:

 

 

 

Press Release: Hibbing Nurses Receive New Offer

17 Jun

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Nemo, 651-414-2863

HIBBING, Minnesota (June 17, 2011) – Hibbing Nurses have received a new offer from Fairview-owned Range Regional Health Services (RRHS) and will be voting late next week whether to accept it or else reject the offer and instead authorize a strike.

The proposal came after both sides met June 15 during a bargaining session overseen by a federal mediator. Nurse representatives for the 150 RNs at RRHS covered by the contract have been negotiating with hospital executives since September 2010. The current contract expired on October 31, 2010, and both sides will continue operating under its terms until a new deal is reached.

More information and background is available online at http://www.mnnurses.org/Hibbing

Founded in 1905, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) represents 20,000 nurses in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. MNA was also a founding member of National Nurses United, which represents more than 175,000 nurses across the United States.

Hibbing RNs Rally Tomorrow!

14 Jun

After rejecting a contract proposal and authorizing the bargaining committee to call for a strike if no settlement is reached, the MNA bargaining committee will be meeting with Range Regional Health Services Management on June 15 in a mediation session conducted by the a Federal Mediator. The nurses continue to call on management to step up and agree to contract language that protects patients by assuring adequate staffing levels at all times and provides the ability to retain experienced nurses as well as to recruit new nurses.

The MNA bargaining committee will provide an update to MNA members at a noon rally on June 15th at the Hibbing Memorial Building, 400 East 23rd Street in Hibbing. Please join us if you can! Bring a bag lunch, hear from Hibbing RNs and show your solidarity!

Breaking News: Hibbing Nurses Reject Updated Proposal, Instead Authorize Strike

24 May

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Nemo, MNA, 651-414-2863 or john.nemo@mnnurses.org

Hibbing RNs Reject Mediated Offer, Authorize Strike

HIBBING, Minnesota (May 24, 2011) – Nurses at Fairview-owned Range Regional Health Services (RRHS) rejected a mediated offer Tuesday and instead voted to authorize a strike.

“Our nurses evaluated this proposal very carefully,” said April Klander, RN, chair of the Minnesota Nurses Association’s (MNA) bargaining team at RRHS. “And we still have significant concerns about the way nursing care is delivered and the fact that this latest proposal does not go far enough to address the inadequate and unsafe staffing situations inside our hospital.”

Nurse representatives for the 150 RNs at RRHS covered by the contract have been negotiating with hospital executives since September 2010. The current contract expired on October 31, 2010, and both sides will continue operating under its terms until a new deal is reached.

Tuesday’s developments came after Hibbing nurses had called for a three-day strike earlier this month, only to see it postponed a few days prior. That strike, which was set to begin on May 4, was cancelled when a federal mediator guided both sides through a last-ditch bargaining session that produced an updated proposal nurse leaders felt merited a vote by the entire membership.

Now that nurses have formally rejected the mediated offer and instead authorized another strike, Klander said nurse leaders would meet later this week to determine their next steps. No strike date has been set, and federal labor laws require that hospitals be given a 10-day formal notice before any type of strike can take place.

In addition to the nursing care delivery and staffing issues, Klander said there remains significant opposition regarding the hospital’s demand to force nurses into a Paid Time Off (PTO) structure that lumps sick days and vacation time together.

“That type of system doesn’t adequately address the needs of nurses who are exposed every day to sick people,” she said. “Our patients deserve the best qualified nurses caring for them in a safe environment. And we remain united in our determination to see that belief reflected in the language of our contract.”

More information is available online at http://www.mnnurses.org/Hibbing

Hibbing Strike FAQs

27 Apr

Press Release: Hibbing RNs Set Strike Date of May 4th

22 Apr

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Nemo, Minnesota Nurses Association, 651-414-2863

HIBBING, Minnesota (April 22, 2011) – Approximately 150 Nurses at Fairview-owned Range Regional Health Services (RRHS) will be conducting a three-day strike for patient safety from May 4-7, 2011.

This afternoon, Nurses delivered the formal 10-day notice of their intent to strike notice – which is required by federal labor laws – to RRHS management. The three-day, unfair labor practice strike will begin at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 4, and end on Saturday, May 7 at 7:00 a.m.

“The hospital left us with no choice,” said April Klander, RN, chair of the Minnesota Nurses Association’s bargaining team at RRHS. “For nearly nine months, hospital executives have turned a deaf ear toward our concerns about staffing levels and the safety of our patients. They have forced us into this situation, and our nurses have responded loud and clear: We’re willing to strike for our patients and our profession.”

Klander said the nurses at RRHS remain willing to return to the bargaining table at any time before May 4 in order to hammer out a new contract at the bargaining table.  A further negotiation session is being scheduled for late next week.

“It remains our sincere hope that a strike can be avoided,” she said. “We’d love nothing more than to see our hospital’s executives come back to the bargaining table and get serious about addressing our concerns related to patient safety and staffing levels.”

Along with staffing and patient safety, other sticking points in negotiations include hospital management’s demand to force nurses into a paid time off structure that lumps sick days and vacation time together instead of keeping the two separate. Another issue involves management demanding the ability to quickly change or extend a nurse’s shift, making it difficult for nurses planning ahead for situations such as daycare services, transportation or other circumstances.

Klander said nurses want contract language that provides for staff nurse input into the delivery of nursing care, RN input regarding staffing levels that includes acuity, or how sick patients are, and a safe work environment.

“Our patients deserve the best qualified nurses caring for them in a safe environment,” Klander said. “And we remain united in seeing this belief reflected in the language of our contract.”

Visit the Range Regional Health Services page for more information and updates.

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