GREENFIELD, Mass — The registered nurses of Baystate Franklin Medical Center (BFMC) have announced their plan to conduct a one-day unfair labor practice strike on Monday, Feb. 10, in direct response to Baystate Health’s illegal declaration of impasse last week in its negotiations for a new contract with the nurses and its plan to implement its last offer, which would eliminate a key nursing standard that serves to protect nurses from working prolonged shifts.

This week the fifth team of registered nurses, part of the Registered Nurse Response Network, are returning from the Philippines after providing basic medical care at a city health clinic in Roxas City, near the northern end of the island of Panay which was in the direct path of the storm. The team includes RNs from New York, Minnesota, Texas, and California. They are among the 3,000 RNs from all 50 states and 19 nations who volunteered in the days after the deadly storm to assist with the relief project for Haiyan/Yolanda.

Hospital chain CHS defies court orders to end illegal retaliation against RNs in its hospitals nationwide. Registered nurses from hospitals throughout San Diego County are holding a candlelight vigil protest on Thursday evening in support of Veronica Poss, the Fallbrook Hospital nurse who was unjustly fired on Monday by her hospital’s corporate owner, Community Health Systems, (CHS), the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), reported today. The union immediately filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Fallbrook for the termination of Poss.

CHS Defies Court Orders to End Illegal Retaliation against RNs in its hospitals nationwide. Just weeks after speaking out at a national press conference about rampant patient safety problems at the nation’s largest hospital chain, two registered nurse leaders have been targeted for termination by Community Health Systems, National Nurses United (NNU) reported today.

With growing public alarm over widening income disparity – and the broad effect on American families – the nation’s largest organization of nurses today called on President Obama in his State of the Union address Tuesday to lead the charge on fighting the income gap and poverty with two big initial steps.