Why defeating Prop. 32 is a patient safety priority
It would be easy for voters, sick of the auction of California politics to the biggest spenders, to be tempted by the misleading advertising for Proposition 32. But all the ads for 32 ought to come with a warning label – beware of buyer’s remorse.
CNA Blog by: Malinda Markowitz, RN and Co-president
NNU Stands Behind Lenox Hill RNs on Fair Contract to Protect Patient Care
NEW YORK – In the aftermath of an overwhelming vote in favor of strike– by a 96% margin, and in recognition of the compelling issues that motivated that significant vote, National Nurses United today issued its strongest message of support to the RNs of Lenox Hill Hospital in their call for a fair contract.
NNU Press Release
Oct 18, 2012
Providence Memorial, El Paso Hospital Nurses Vote by 64% to Join NNU in Decisive Election
Registered nurses at Providence Memorial Hospital in El Paso voted by 64 percent Tuesday night to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Texas, the Texas affiliate of National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of RNs. The landslide win, 201 to 115 for NNOC-Texas came in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. NNOC-Texas will represent some 500 RNs at the hospital. Overall, NNU represents 185,000 RNs across the U.S.
NNU Press Release
Oct 17, 2012
Payroll deception with a new face...
Again California "Special Interests" have a proposition on our November ballot. It is called the "Special Exemptions Act", better known as Proposition 32. And it gets a little confusing determining just who are those who will benefit from these "special exemptions". Perhaps this nurse's take on exactly what will this Proposition do for my patients might shed some light on the real agenda this proposition supports. It is NOT what it seems....Proposition 32, the Special Exemptions Act, touted as political campaign reform. Proposition 32 claims to be about stopping special interest money in politics, but it is really an attempt to deceive voters into passing a law that would change the rules to benefit wealthy corporate interests....at the expense of middle-class workers and unions.
CNA blog by Kathryn Donahue, RN
Citing Safe Staffing Concerns, Kaiser RNs Plan to Picket Oakland Hospital Tuesday
OAKLAND—Registered nurses will hold a picket outside the Kaiser Permanente Oakland hospital Tuesday, October 16 to air concerns about ongoing problems with appropriate safe staffing at the Oakland hospital, the California Nurses Association announced today.
CNA Media Advisory
Oct 15, 2012
It’s Up to All of Us to Protect Social Security
“One thing I know. Social Security is so firmly embedded in the American psychology today that no politician, no political group could possibly destroy this Act and still maintain our democratic system. It is safe forever, and for the everlasting benefit of the people of the United States.†—Frances Perkins, on the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Social Security Act (from the book, The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience). Good thing Frances Perkins is not hearing the disinformation from Washington and many in the media today claiming Social Security is going broke and that there is a “consensus†that cuts are needed in Social Security to reduce the federal deficit.
NNU Blog
Barstow RNs Hold Candlelight Vigil Protest on Opening Day of New Hospital-Saturday
Registered nurses at Barstow Community Hospital (BCH) will hold a candlelight vigil Saturday evening to highlight their concerns with management’s misplaced priorities that placed the construction of a new facility with 15,000 additional square feet before ways to recruit and retain experienced nurses, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United announced today. While the new hospital boasts of its emergency department which will include a trauma bay, airborne infection exam room, and 15 exam rooms, nearly one-half of the ED RN staff have resigned. Nurses attribute the exodus of RNs to the substandard patient care protections, salaries, and benefits that are well below community standards of area hospitals.
CNA Press Release
Oct 11, 2012
St. Vincent to open psych unit in downtown Worcester
The Massachusetts Nurses Association hailed the announcement today. “We applaud the decision,†said David Schildmeier, MNA communications director. “It's something we've been advocating for well over a year.†He said, “This is a very important development for those suffering from mental illness in Massachusetts, as this will preserve psychiatric beds at a time when there is a dramatic and dangerous shortage of those beds.â€
Telegram
Worker rights panel claims EMMC’s nurse staffing level too low
BANGOR, Maine — A report released Wednesday by a labor group contends that nurse understaffing is having a negative effect on patient care at Eastern Maine Medical Center, but EMMC officials question the report’s sourcing, data and timeliness.
The report, presented by the Worker Rights Board of Eastern Maine during a press conference Wednesday morning at the Bangor Public Library, says that:
Bangor Daily News
News Coverage of Our 1-Day Strike at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, MA
Nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center returned to work at 7 a.m. on Saturday after their 24-hour strike. The strike began at 7 a.m. Friday. The next negotiation session between the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Baystate Franklin Medical Center is set for Oct. 25.
Several Sources