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:
Tag Archives: Hibbing
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.
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
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.
Press Release: Hibbing RNs Vote Resoundingly to Authorize Strike
15 Apr
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Nemo, MNA (651-414-2863)
HIBBING, Minn. (April 15, 2011) – Nurses at Fairview-owned Range Regional Health Services (RRHS) voted resoundingly Friday to authorize their RN leadership to call for a strike.
“For nearly nine months, hospital executives have turned a deaf ear toward our concerns about staffing levels and the safety of our patients,” said April Klander, RN, chair of the Minnesota Nurses Association’s (MNA) bargaining team at RRHS. “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.”
More than 150 nurses at RRHS are represented by MNA in the negotiations, which began in September 2010. Nurses and hospital executives have met more than a dozen times since then and have been unable to reach a contract agreement.
“The reason things got to this point is pretty simple,” Klander said. “We cannot continue in good conscience working in situations and circumstances that continually put our patients and ourselves at risk.”
Friday’s vote means nurse leaders at RRHS can call for a strike at any time, though federal labor laws require the hospital be given at least 10 days notice of the nurses’ intent to strike.
“It is our sincere hope that a strike can be avoided,” Klander 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 (http://www.mnnurses.org/Hibbing) for more information and updates.
Sign the petition to support Hibbing RNs in their courageous stand for patient safety.
Press Release: Hibbing Nurses to take Strike Vote
14 Apr
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: John Nemo, MNA (651-414-2863) or e-mail
HIBBING, Minn. (April 14, 2011) – After months of unsuccessful negotiations, 150 RNs at Fairview-owned Range Regional Health Services (RRHS) will be voting tomorrow on whether to authorize their nurse leaders to call for a strike.
“Hospital executives have left us no choice,” said April Klander, RN, chair of the Minnesota Nurses Association’s (MNA) bargaining team at RRHS. “Our nurses continue to have critical concerns related to staffing levels and the safety of our patients, yet management refuses to adequately address these concerns. We cannot continue in good conscience working in situations and circumstances that continually put our patients and ourselves at risk.”
Nurses and hospital executives have been bargaining since September 2010 in an effort to reach a new labor agreement. Results of Friday’s vote, which is being held at an undisclosed location, are expected to be announced sometime after 8:00 p.m.
“We are very disappointed that after eight months and more than a dozen negotiation sessions, hospital management will not commit to a contract that addresses employee and patient safety,” Klander said.
Along with staffing levels 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.
Upcoming: Iron Range Solidarity Rally on March 25th
21 Mar
Workers across the country in both the public and private sector are under attack. Minnesota is no exception.
Whether it’s the republican legislature’s “cuts only budget”, the do nothing congress, or employers who try to balance their budgets on the
backs of their employees, working families are getting the short end of the stick.
Join workers from every sector – union and non-union alike – for a rally that will send a message:
WE WILL NOT SIT BY WHILE WORKERS ARE BLAMED FOR THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS!
Details
What: Iron Range Solidarity Rally
When: Friday, March 25th @ 5:30pm
Where: Hibbing Memorial Building
Who: Workers and local elected officials
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