MNA RNs Make Major Contract Gains Across the State

The saying is true: workers united will never be defeated. Even while facing a surging pandemic, nurses across the state have been able to win historic contracts that raise the bar for all healthcare professionals, union and non-union alike. At Lapeer, RNs were able to get management to improve their contractually guaranteed staffing ratios and expedite the process for getting staffing concerns addressed. At War Memorial Hospital, nurses were able to win an average 6% raise in the first year to give them some of the most competitive wages in the region. At Schoolcraft, RNs were able to get contractually guaranteed hazard pay when looking after COVID patients and have their voices listened to when jointly deciding upon a surge plan with management. When MNA RNs and healthcare professionals work together, there is no limit to what we can achieve for our patients and for each other.  

 

Using Every Tool to Hold Hospital Executives Accountable

As MNA RNs and healthcare professionals, we are proud to use every single tool at our disposal to advocate for our patients and our profession. Sometimes, that means we do collective actions together like wearing stickers, distributing yard signs, or holding pickets. Other times, we use our power as a union to force hospitals to be transparent.  

MNA recently won two victories by forcing hospitals in Marquette and Traverse City into settlements with the NLRB which required the hospitals to turn over detailed information they were trying to not disclose. This information ranged from details about health insurance to specifics about PPE to wage comparison studies. The settlement requiring the hospital to turn over detailed information about PPE levels is especially significant because it established a precedent reaffirming the right of nurses to request and know how much PPE is available. 

Additionally, thanks to the advocacy of MNA RNs, MIOSHA has one of the best PPE enforcement programs in the country. As a nurse, you have the right to wear a respirator (N-95 or equivalent/greater) if you are in direct care of a COVID-19 positive or suspected patient. Additionally, if you are worried about possible outbreaks at your hospital, you have a right to request the OSHA 300 logs (hospitals are REQUIRED to disclose these logs upon request). If the hospital does not turn the information over within 24 hours, you can file a complaint. 

When RNs and healthcare professionals are united, we can make a difference in the lives of our patients and our own working conditions!  

 

New CEs on the Horizon

Coming soon… CE on your phone! We are working to improve usability and portability of all of our modules! Look for new continuing education modules in November for Dementia, a COVID-19 update, and an Introduction to Bias in Healthcare! 

 

Fight for Safe Staffing Legislation

MNA is the only union fighting for a safe RN staffing law in Michigan. The Safe Patient Care Act would require nurse-to-patient ratios, limits on mandatory overtime, and hospital transparency. To learn more, visit www.misaferhospitals.org

P.S. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to vote! Election day is Tuesday.  

 

Meet Your New MNA Board of Directors

House of Delegates is an assembly of nurses and healthcare professionals elected by Local Bargaining Units all across the state that is the highest governing body in MNA. Members of the House of Delegates have voted for new members of the Board of Directors and executive officers! Here are the results:

Vice President
Stephanie DePetro

Secretary
Tammy Parsons

Board of Directors
Katie Pontifex
Bret Kelly
Jeff Breslin
Kathy Hillman
Emily Fredericksen
Heather Roe
Anne Jackson*

*Appointed by the Board of Directors to fill a vacancy upon Stephanie DePetro's election as Vice President. 

These newly elected RNs will be joining the other nurse leaders on the Board of Directors who are finishing out their terms! (Jamie Brown - President; Kathy Lehman - Treasurer; Melissa Boals, James Walker, April VanHaecke, Jessica Lannon - Board of Directors.)

 

Congratulations to the 2020 MNA Award Recipients

Learn more about the amazing RNs who won awards at the 2020 House of Delegates by clicking here! Congratulations to Rebecca Cherney (Michigan Medicine), Katie Pontifex (Sparrow Hospital), Judy Moore (Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital), and Stephanie DePetro (UPHS Marquette) and thank you for the work you do for your patients and your community every day.  

 

 

Please remember: MNA staff are required to wear masks at all times when not working remotely for everyone’s mutual safety and we ask that if you are interacting with MNA staff in-person that you wear a mask as well. As the surge continues, we want to lead the way in terms of modelling best practices for health and safety. Please be respectful and know that this is something MNA staff are required to do.  

If you have a tip or story you would like to share, send an email to minurses@minurses.org

Michigan Nurses Association
2310 Jolly Oak Road | Okemos, MI  48864
(517) 349-5640 | minurses@minurses.org

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