We met with AHMC management at the bargaining table a third time, and reached agreement on:

• Language clarifying the rights of Union stewards
• Improving Nurses’ access to Union information and ability to hold Union meetings
• Standard language clarifying that any compensation amounts are minimums, and Nurses may not receive less than what the contract calls for

In addition, our Union bargaining team presented proposals on:

• Job security
• Health and Safety
• Leaves of absence

Staffing and Patient Care Issues

Call-in/Call-off

We also proposed a change to the call-in procedure when Nurses are unable to work a scheduled shift. Nurses have reported instances of management calling off Nurses due to low census, leading to understaffing when Nurses then call in sick. This is due to the deadline for Nurses to call in sick being identical to the deadline for management to call off Nurses. Our proposal shifts the deadline for Nurses to call in from two hours prior to the start of the shift to 2 ½ hours prior, enabling calloff decisions to be made with more complete information with the Union’s intent being to reduce understaffing incidents.

Floating

Your Union bargaining team is preparing to address the severe floating issues that Nurses are reporting. In upcoming sessions we will present proposals that will help ensure that patients’ needs will take precedence over management’s desire for flexibility.

We know that RNs have been floating to departments where they don’t have current validated competency and management continues to engage in this unsafe practice. Management should never give an RN an assignment to care for patients for which the RN does not have current validated competency, and Nurses must be adequately oriented to any department they are floated to.

Maria Elena Diaz (NICU), Ernesto Fajardo (3West), Christina Smith (Acute Rehab) — 121RN Union Bargaining Team