Editor's Note: The strike by 1700 nurses in Stanford, California, represented
by the independent union CRONA is now over. For background, see the article
below, and go to the CRONA web site <
http://www.crona.org> for further
developments. These bulletins and a variety of other articles of interest to
nursing, labor and health activists are archived on 'Sandy's Links'
<http://users.rcn.com/wbumpus/sandy>. For in-depth discussion of the issues
raised by the proposal that the Massachusetts Nurses Association secede from
the ANA federation, see several articles below, and go to the MNA web site
<http://www.massnurses.org>. -- SE
The Mugwump* Flaps its Wings
Brief Synopsis & Evaluation of ANA's 2000 House of Delegates
by Sandy Eaton, RN
The essentially contradictory nature of a national organization that tries to
be all things to all nurses shone through again in the year 2000.
Clear opposition to mandatory overtime was proclaimed, but it took a revolt
in the ranks to get Tenet Health Care Corporation's booth removed from the
Convention, even though Tenet had been an outlaw long before nurses in
Worcester confronted their greed.
After years of trying, the 1999 House of Delegates finally adopted a
resolution in support of universal single-payer health care reform. Then in
2000 Tipper Gore came to receive a standing ovation as she reminded attendees
of the booming economy, declaring that nurses should make more and that we
need another increment in health coverage to inch toward a universal system.
The next day a nurse took the microphone on a point of personal privilege to
decry, with tears in her voice, the demise of the public health
infrastructure in this country over the last several years.
A forum on the nursing shortage, addressed by the heads of the components of
the Tri-Council, as well as by the co-chair of NOLF, failed to enunciate a
clear strategy for dealing with the industry's assault on nurses and nursing
practice. The president of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing,
citing a recent report in JAMA authored by nurse-researcher Peter Bierhaus
and others, took up their call for differentiated practice as a way to make
nursing practice more acceptable to upwardly mobile young people. At least
she didn't introduce Bierhaus' other projected solution, greater dependence
on unlicensed assisted personnel.
The first national assembly of the United American Nurses took place just
before the House of Delegates proper, charged with the expectation that
nurses anywhere would be able to seek collective bargaining under its
auspices. However, discussion on the floor with leaders of several states
which do not currently engage in collective bargaining made it quite clear
that they would not countenance any organizing within their states, since
that might 'upset the delicate balance' they have with their state
legislatures.
ANA/UAN has been in discussions with the AFL-CIO regarding possible terms of
UAN's proposed affiliation with the AFL-CIO, even as two AFL-CIO affiliates,
the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees and the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, were engaged in a raid on the state
chapter of health care professionals, represented by the Illinois Nurses
Association and comprising nearly one quarter of INA's membership. (See INA
press release below.)
Many Massachusetts delegates worn tee shirts with the words "Ask me! I'm from
Massachusetts" emblazoned across their backs. This simple act provoked
hundreds of heartfelt conversations on why nurses in Massachusetts are
discussing whether their role as patient advocate demanded more decisive
action than continued seven-figure investment in an organization whose own
leadership, the House of Delegates, voted not to hold the Board of Directors
accountable for projecting a plan for saving the Association from impending
fiscal demise.
* A strange bird sitting on a fence with its mug on one side and its wump on
the other.
(Springfield) The Illinois Nurses Association (INA) has prevailed
resoundingly and put down a decertification attempt by the Teamsters and
AFSCME to raid INA's statewide local unit of 1400 state-employed RNs. In an
election conducted by the Illinois Labor Board, state-employed nurses voted
overwhelmingly to continue collective bargaining representation with INA. The
ballots were counted July 12, 2000 at the Labor Board offices in Springfield.
"We couldn't be happier," said Mildred Taylor, RN, Chair of the INA
State-employed Local Unit. "Our members have sent a clear message that we are
united as nurses through our professional organization and union, the
Illinois Nurses Association. We are resolved to flex this strength and unity
as we continue to negotiate with the state over critical issues like
inadequate staffing, workplace safety, and patient care issues."
"The Illinois Nurses Association is proud to represent state-employed RNs,"
said Ann O'Sullivan, MSN, RN, INA President. "As the professional association
and union for RNs in the State of Illinois, INA is the unrivaled leader for
all nurses on professional and workplace issues, as well as patient
advocacy."
The ballot offered four choices: INA, Teamsters, AFSCME or "No
Representation." INA won with an overwhelming 756 votes out of 1067 ballots
cast. The Teamsters received 164 votes, AFSCME received 150, and 3 votes were
cast for "no representative."
"This INA victory is the best possible outcome for nurses," said Taylor. "Now
we can get on with the business of representing nurses in the facilities and
at the bargaining table." State-employed nurses work in 96 facilities
throughout the state including correctional facilities, mental health
centers, public health and public aid offices, veterans' homes, and rehab and
children/family services. Their local unit carries a state designation of
RC-23, standing for "ratified contract - 23."
INA has been in contract negotiations with the State of Illinois since March
30, 2000. Meeting for 3-4 days every other week since March, INA has been
aggressively advocating for state nurses on critical issues such as mandatory
overtime, workplace safety and inadequate staffing. Despite some early
progress, contract talks have slowed. The State began to stall when the
Teamsters and AFSCME filed their petitions to decertify the INA Local Unit in
late April. INA has kept the pressure on, however, and has requested federal
mediation.
"We have sent the State a very clear message that we are serious about these
issues," said Joe Burns, INA Chief Negotiator. "The State tried to exploit
the situation created by the Teamster & AFSCME raid, but the INA Negotiating
Team has always been focused on getting the best contract
for State-employed Nurses. Now that the election is over and INA's strength
among RNs and in the labor community is greater than ever, we will expect the
state to get serious about making real progress at the negotiating table."
PALO ALTO -- The end of one of the longest nurses' strikes in Bay Area
history appeared to be in sight yesterday after a tentative contract
settlement emerged from marathon talks between negotiators for Stanford
University's two hospitals and the union.
No details of the proposal, crafted by a federal mediator, were released by
mutual agreement of management and the Committee for Recognition of Nursing
Achievement, which represents the 1,700 nurses who began their walkout on
June 7.
`'We don't want to create a lot of hysteria over this'' by releasing details
in advance, said Kim Griffin, union spokeswoman.'
Instead, the nurses will learn what is in the proposed agreement at a series
of meetings with union leaders on Monday and Tuesday in Palo Alto. An all-day
vote on the proposed contract is scheduled for Thursday.
The union will not recommend voting one way or the other, Griffin said. ``We
will merely present the package, answer questions and then let the membership
decide,'' she said.
Meanwhile, the hospitals have endorsed the tentative contract, said Felix
Barthelemy, Stanford Medical Center's vice president for human resources and
a hospital negotiator.
The strike reflects a growing militancy nationwide among nurses who,
according to one report, struck 21 hospitals and medical centers last year.
As in the Stanford walkout, nurses are often demanding more say in staffing
decisions and the right to refuse overtime to reduce fatigue and illness, in
addition to better pay and benefits.
Nurses and staff members at nine Bay Area hospitals staged a one-day walkout
on July 6. Earlier this year, about 450 nurses struck Nyack Hospital in New
York for 151 days before ratifying a new contract in May, while nurses in
Worcester, Mass., were on strike for 49 days until an agreement was reached
with the help of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D- Mass.
The longest nurses' strike on record in California was in San Jose in 1982.
The walkout lasted three months before agreements were reached with San Jose,
Alexian Brothers and Good Samaritan hospitals.
The Stanford contract package, said negotiators, reflects compromise by both
sides in the 46-day-old strike, which had largely stalled on the issues of
wages and a proposed cut in vacation time for the nurses.
The nurses, who originally sought a 17 percent increase in their hourly pay
over a two-year contract, dropped that demand to 7.5 percent for each of the
two years. The hospitals had been firm on their offer of an 8 percent hike
divided evenly over two years, before what became 18 hours of bargaining
talks resumed Thursday morning.
With union leaders avoiding recommending the mediator's proposal,
rank-and-file support of the pact is not guaranteed. The uncertainty was
reflected by nurses who continued to picket yesterday, even with word from
the union that picketing would be voluntary until the vote is taken.
``We have mixed feelings that it's being presented by the mediator, instead
of by our own union officers,'' said Cheryl Branco, an intensive care nurse,
who was among a dozen people holding picket signs outside Stanford University
Hospital. ``We're here to show solidarity with our officers.''
During the strike, Stanford University and Lucile Salter Packard hospitals
have been staffed by 500 replacement nurses hired from around the nation.
One replacement nurse, a woman who was found dead in her Foster City hotel
room earlier this month, was said to have worked about 20 days in a row
before she died.
Yesterday, the California Nurses Association, the state's largest nurses
union, called on the California Labor Commission to investigate Stanford
Medical Center and the U.S. Nursing Corp., through which the dead nurse was
hired, for possible violations of state labor law in allegedly having
temporary employees work excessively long hours.
`'This is a dangerous situation for public health and safety and for patients
at the Stanford hospitals,'' said California Nurses Association spokesman
Charles Idelson.
Stanford spokesman Ben Drew confirmed that hospital records showed that the
nurse who died had worked 20 consecutive days, but he noted that the
coroner's report said she died of natural causes.
``It was a tragedy, but we don't think it was strike-related,'' Drew said.
The hospitals' agreement with U.S. Nursing calls for replacement nurses to
work a minimum of 48 hours a week, Drew said. The schedules of the
replacements are monitored by hospital supervisors and the county Health
Services Department to ensure that patient care is not compromised, he said.
Lea Brooks, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Health Services,
said monitors so far have not found any egregious errors on the part of
replacement nurses. However, the department has received 18 complaints
regarding care at Stanford Hospital and 15 for Lucile Packard Children's
Hospital.
Brooks said most of the complaints were not specific and came from anonymous
sources.
``We're checking out all of the complaints,'' she said. ``We haven't gotten
to them all, but we will investigate them all.''
E-mail Bill Workman at wworkman@sfgate.com.
Chronicle staff writer Julie N. Lynem contributed to this report.
Mass. nurses' group considers seceding from its US parent
by Anne Barnard, Boston Globe
August 2, 2000
Besieged by staffing cuts and deteriorating working conditions, some
Massachusetts nurses have decided to update their profession's mild,
nurturing image with a little more radical fire.
They are urging the Massachusetts Nurses Association to split off from its
national parent organization, which they call too moderate for an era when
nursing is, in their words, ''in chaos and facing extinction.''
''We need a revolution in health care,'' said Peggy O'Malley, 55, a nurse on
disability leave from Brigham and Women's Hospital who is campaigning for the
split.
Sounding a little less like Florence Nightingale and a bit more like Karl
Marx, leaders of the Massachusetts Nurses Association's organized labor
branch recently proposed the split from the American Nursing (sic)
Association. They were emboldened by their successful April strike at St.
Vincent Hospital in Worcester. The strike showed nurses that they could score
victories by linking their labor issues to public concern about cost-cutting
in health care.
The proposal has sparked a fierce debate within the Massachusetts Nurses
Association, where some call proponents of secession ''too militant'' and
suggest they are taking out their frustration over problems that managed care
has caused nurses.
The secession movement is building as the American Nursing (sic) Association
insists that it has finally embraced a role as a national labor union -
largely at the prompting of the Massachusetts group. The MNA, with 18,000
members, makes up one-tenth of the national association's numbers.
Members of the Massachusetts group will decide the issue in a Nov. 9 vote
that will help shape the future of the organization, which now operates both
as a traditional labor union and as a professional association for unionized
nurses, nurse managers, and educators. A two-thirds majority is needed for a
split; at stake is the $1 million in annual dues that now goes to the
national association. The Maine Nurses Association is planning a similar vote.
The argument goes beyond organizational infighting. Nurses are debating how
they view themselves and their profession - and particularly, how strongly to
identify with organized labor.
''The image within the ANA is of the nurse as someone who serves'' the cause
of medicine, said Tom Juravich, director of the University of Massachusetts La
bor Center and author of ''Commonwealth of Toil,'' a labor history of the
state. Unionized nurses are more assertive, he said, characterizing their
approach as, ''We don't simply serve; we make our own fortunes.''
But the national organization has changed, said Michelle Nawar, a spokeswoman
for United American Nurses, the ANA union founded last year. While the
national group was long ambivalent, she said, nowadays even members who do
not themselves support unions recognize that the ANA should lead the way in
organizing nurses.
''The tide is turning,'' she said. ''What we're asking is that they wait and
give the [United American Nurses] a chance.''
Too late, said O'Malley, of Gloucester, who is campaigning for the split.
Nurses in Massachusetts, where managed care has hit harder than in many
states, are on the ''front lines'' and ''can't afford to be moderate,'' she
said.
''I don't think doctors are going to lead it, and I don't think patients are
able to lead it,'' she said. ''Nurses are leading it, and it's nothing less
than a revolution. It's a social movement. And we've gotten much more
comfortable with that as nurses.''
Not everyone is comfortable with such unbending language, even in the
generally prolabor Massachusetts group. Meg Perry, 55, a staff nurse at
Cambridge Hospital, opposes the split, saying union leaders who spend days
negotiating contracts should value compromise.
''When you have differences within a family, you sit down and work it out.
You don't just pack up your bags,'' Perry said.
The national association has had its problems, including a $3 million deficit
last year, but it is doing its best to address them, Perry said. ANA
membership gives Massachusetts nurses more national clout, as well as access
to a professional network, she added. ''There's a lot to lose that people are
not going to be aware of until they reach for it and it's not there.''
Both the Massachusetts and national groups say they want to strengthen
nurses' unions, increase access to health care, and maintain staffing levels
so that nurses don't have to work mandatory overtime and patient safety is
not compromised.
But the ANA was slower to take those positions, prompting the California
Nurses Association to secede in 1995. The ANA adopted a resolution against
mandatory overtime only in June - after the St. Vincent strike in Worcester
made national headlines.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the Massachusetts and national groups
centers on attitudes toward labor.
The MNA has been unionizing nurses since the 1960s. The ANA, trying to appeal
to union and nonunion states alike, waited until last year to create its
national union. The MNA refused to join it, arguing that its structure left
it open to management influence, which the ANA denies.
MNA leaders who want a split complain that while 68 percent of ANA dues come
from staff nurses, 56 percent of the delegates who set its agenda are from
management or academia and are less likely to be concerned about
rank-and-file nursing issues. The ANA says it does not keep track of the dues
breakdown but points out that its union has its own all-labor governing body
and a budget of $3.5 million.
Teachers, musicians, and actors have had similar arguments over whether they
are best represented by unions or professional groups. But the nurses' debate
resonates more strongly with the public, Juravich said, because unions have
worked hard to define the plight of nurses in terms of larger societal issues
such as access to health care.
That feeling was audible at a recent lunch at the 99 Restaurant, not far from
the state group's Canton headquarters, where several members used sweeping
terms in their pitch for secession.
''The MNA is committed to a radical transformation of the health care system
in Massachusetts, to getting the corporations and the insurance companies out
of the picture,'' said Sandy Eaton, 56, of Quincy. ''The MNA is my political
party.''
''We're organizing nurses for political action,'' said Karen Higgins, 46, the
MNA's elected chair of labor relations. She dubbed the ANA's union ''a piece
of fluff.''
MNA president Karen Daley, who opposes the split, said the fact that nurses'
issues affect all of society means that the group should see the value in
taking a more moderate approach at times.
''Collective bargaining is only one tool,'' she said. But to influence public
policy, ''you also have to have access and respect'' in places such as
Washington.
Both sides insist that nurses can think of themselves as professionals and
union members at the same time. Said Higgins: ''We're using collective
bargaining as a tool to defend our profession.''
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