Massachusetts nurses will decide Saturday whether to accept a 41 percent fee
increase from the American Nurses Association, or to disengage from it.
If the 20,000 members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association stay with the
ANA, those in local unions may also be forced to join ANA's national union.
The ANA is expected to mandate that state groups must join the union, and
affiliate with the AFL-CIO.
MNA leaders, who want to split from the ANA, say it no longer represents
their views.
"The vote is key because the MNA and the nurses we represent need the
resources and the freedom to aggressively attack the current health care
crisis," said the MNA's David Schildmeier. "This is the vehicle by which we
will gain that freedom and power."
If the MNA stays in the ANA, nurses' annual dues will rise to $120 from $85.
MNA members pay $1.2 million a year to the ANA.
While some want to leave, others feel the ANA is an important voice. The ANA
is aiding MNA members fighting a split.
"We believe it's very damaging to start splintering up nursing groups," said
ANA's Connie Helminger. "There are a lot of issues facing nurses ... to
address these, nurses need to be united in their efforts."
Saturday's vote in Worcester will be the second held by the MNA on whether to
break with ANA. The last vote in November was narrowly defeated and led to a
leadership shakeup.
In some ways this is a battle between nurse managers and union nurses. Those
in local unions say the national organization is dominated by nursing
supervisors who dictate its policies.
"Many of the positions they take are more moderate than ours or in complete
opposition," said Julie Pinkham, executive director of the MNA.
Copyright by the Boston Herald
---------------------------
Dear MNA nurses:
As Saturday's historic vote on disaffiliation from the American Nurses
Association approaches, I want to say that my thoughts and best wishes are
with all of you in Massachusetts.
Believe that nurses across the country are watching your efforts. MNA has put
democracy on the nursing map because it's not just about the vote nor its
outcome, but about practicing the critical elements of the democratic
process, questioning and participation in public debate. This IS democracy in
action.
MNA and MA nurses are once again national role models, on the cutting edge
and leading the pack. It was your efforts which placed mandatory overtime and
the need for whistleblower protection on the national agenda. It was MNA
nurses who challenged the elitist favoritism of boards of nursing for nurse
managers at the expense of staff nurses. It was your collaboration with and
influence on the nation's most well known Senator which resulted in his
insistence that nurse mandatory overtime be at the top of the list of
concerns for Labor cabinet nominee Elaine Chao. This unprecedented thrust of
nurse concerns into the nation's top agenda was televised around the world
via C-SPAN, and it is the direct result of the work of STAFF NURSES in
Massachusetts.
But it isn't only your fellow nurses and home state Senators who are paying
attention. Show me another state with the same degree of press coverage in
the mainstream media that MNA nurses have incurred over the past 12 months.
Worcester nurses received support messages from around the world - show me
another such instance. MNA nurses are photographed, filmed, written about,
and the subject of cover stories. From the Boston Globe to NPR to Revolution
to the Associated Press to C-SPAN, MNA is noticed.
Along with all this attention comes a degree of notoriety, in the sense of
being noticed and that fact being unusual for nurses and uncomfortable for
some. Some nurses and their organizations would rather not be noticed. Some
would rather retain the traditional and virtuous "good girl" status. Some
would prefer small, incremental, marginally reformist changes achieved "from
within," which is to say those few changes conceded by dominant forces, as
this path is less threatening, accommodating, and does not challenge the
status quo nor the privileges of those who control it. I hope MNA nurses vote
against this framework on Saturday.
But finally it would be unfair and inaccurate to so admire the
accomplishments of MNA staff nurses without also recognizing the equally
unbelievable talent within MNA leadership. I'm 3,000 miles away, and yet I
have cause to respect the work of Julie Pinkham, Denise Garlick, Joe-Ann
Fergus, Teana Gillinson, Margaret O'Malley, Terri Arthur, Sandy Eaton, Barry
Adams, David Schildmeier, Evie Bain, and so many, many others.
So, my thoughts are with all MNA nurses this week. I sincerely appreciate
your contributions to nursing and ultimately patient welfare, your talents,
your courage, your hard work. We are all watching.
Carrie Lybecker, RN
Olympia, WA
----------------------------
Vote YES for ANA disaffiliation!
March 24, 2001
Mechanics Hall, 321 Main St., Worcester, MA
Doors open 11:30 AM - Meeting starts promptly at 1:00 PM
From Boston:
Take Mass. Pike West (route 90). Get off at exit 10 (Auburn exit) to Route
290 East. Take Route 290 to exit 16, which is the Central Street/Downtown
Worcester exit. Take a left onto Central St. and continue straight. Turn left
on Worcester Center Boulevard at the second set of lights. Turn right onto
Foster Street at first set of lights. Turn right onto Waldo Street two blocks
up. Enter the Fleet parking lot on the corner of Foster and Waldo Streets,
next to the rear entrance to Mechanics Hall (a glass facade). There are
several parking lots in the immediate area. We do not have a parking lot of
our own.
From Springfield:
Take Mass Pike East (1-90). Get off at East (I-90). Get off at Exit 10
(Auburn exit) to I-290. Take I-290 to Exit 16 which is the Central
Street/Downtown Worcester exit. Turn left onto Central Street and continue
straight. Turn left onto Worcester Center Boulevard at the second set of
lights. Turn right onto Foster Street at first set of lights. Turn right onto
Waldo Street two blocks up. Enter the Fleet parking lot on the corner of
Foster and Waldo Streets, next to the rear entrance to Mechanics Hall (a
glass facade). There are several parking lots in the immediate area. We do
not have a parking lot of our own.
From Fall River:
Take Route 24 to 495 North to 290 West. Get off on Exit 16 which is the
Central Street/Downtown Worcester exit. Take a right onto Central Street and
continue straight. Turn left on Worcester Center Boulevard at the second set
of lights. Turn right onto Foster Street at first set of lights. Turn right
onto Waldo Street two blocks up. Enter the Fleet parking lot on the corner of
Foster and Waldo Streets, next to the rear entrance to Mechanics Hall. (a
glass facade). There are several parking lots in the immediate area. We do
not have a parking lot of our own.
Take 495 South to 290 West. Get off 290 at Exit 16, which is the Central
Street/Downtown Worcester exit. Take a right off the ramp on to Central
Street and continue straight. Turn left on Worcester Center Boulevard at the
second set of lights. Turn right onto Foster Street at the first set of
lights. Turn right onto Waldo Street two blocks up. Enter the Fleet parking
lot on the corner of Foster and Waldo Streets, next to the rear entrance of
Mechanics Hall (a glass facade). There are several parking lots in the
immediate area. We do not have a parking lot of our own.
From Boston, Framingham, Natick, Shrewsbury, Westboro:
Take Route 9 West straight into Worcester. Route 9 turns into Belmont Street.
3-1/2 miles down the road on your left you will see the Worcester Police
Station. At those lights, take a left onto Worcester Center Boulevard.
Continue on Worcester Center Boulevard to Foster Street. Take a right onto
Foster Street and two streets up on your right is Waldo Street. Take a right
onto Waldo Street. The Fleet parking lot will be on your left and right next
to that is the rear entrance to Mechanics Hall (a glass facade). There are
several parking lots in the immediate area. We do not have a parking lot of
our own. There is ample parking at the Worcester Outlet Mall nearby. Buses
are available in every district and through MNA bargaining units.
Please Note: Scents may trigger responses in those with chemical sensitivity.
Please avoid wearing scented personal products and refrain from smoking when
you attend this meeting. Thank you!
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