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Forum Post: Nurses Protest at Baystate Dedication Cut "Respect Your Nurses" Ribbon

Posted 12 years ago on March 3, 2012, 11:29 p.m. EST by GirlFriday (17435)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

"At Baystate Franklin Medical Center management has come after us with a vengeance," according to bargaining unit Co-Chair Donna Stern RN. "They want to calculate overtime pay in a new way that would cost many of our members thousands of dollars. They have a proposal that would limit the nurse's ability to negotiate over the health insurance premium split. They are also proposing to expand mandatory 'on-call' of nurses allowing them to bring in RNs when needed. These proposals would make it virtually impossible for a nurse to schedule their life."

Baystate has hired an expensive anti-union labor law firm to represent them in both negotiations. Jackson Lewis touts themselves as experts in "Union Avoidance." While the issues are slightly different in the negotiations, the attitude of the attorney representing Baystate is the same; they know what is best for the nurses and the organization and if the nurses don't agree the RNs just don't understand reality. Management continues to claim that the current economic situation, along with the unknowns of health care reform, should give them the right to offer little, if any, wage increases, strip benefits they say are outmoded, and ultimately to bust the union and eliminate their union rights.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/28/4296948/nurses-protest-at-baystate-dedication.html#storylink=cpy

And this one (different state) Nurses take staffing fight to Legislature

At a press conference in St. Paul Tuesday, union leaders accused hospital officials of breaking promises made after the strike to work with nurses to address staffing questions. They also said they collected nearly 1,000 reports in the last half of 2011 from nurses who said patients were endangered by inadequate staffing levels.

"We've been left with no choice but to take our concerns to the state Legislature," said Linda Hamilton, president of the nurses association.

17 Comments

17 Comments


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[-] 2 points by factsrfun (8310) from Phoenix, AZ 12 years ago

Going after unions is essential to their strategy, I know an airline pilot that makes poverty wages, it reminds me of the old quote, I was quiet when..., job by job they are taking down the middle class, doctors and lawyers may think they’re safe, but so did computer techs. Today the hot thing is “government unions” I was chatting with a troll and I told him why don’t you just drop the “government” truth is you hate all unions.

[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

Yes, I agree.

Wonderful, incredibly talented people that are prevented from doing their jobs so that someone at the top can rake it in.

[-] 1 points by factsrfun (8310) from Phoenix, AZ 12 years ago

We allowed ourselves to be fooled, in the 80's we cost more than the Japanese, so we had to take less "to keep our jobs" now it's the Chinese, these people will not be done till people are working for food.

[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

What's this "we"? I'm sorry facts, I have 100 things that I am responsible for and this isn't one of them. But, I do agree that they will not stop until they recreate a feudal society.

[-] 1 points by factsrfun (8310) from Phoenix, AZ 12 years ago

Global we, remember how they talked about Reagan? and still do. No I didn’t buy it either, but I still see people talking about its global competition that drives down wages. Really, that’s why we can’t pay a pilot, or nurse? The Chinese are doing it. I know that free trade has been used as a weapon against workers but trade didn’t do all this and it won’t fix it. The more people depend on investments for retirement the harder this thing will be to fix. Every other add on some channels is about how to make money with money, and the thing about money, more is better, so labor cost are a problem, as long as we all need our money to make lots of money.

[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

I agree. The problem is that investments for retirement was just another way to steal from the people.

[-] 1 points by factsrfun (8310) from Phoenix, AZ 12 years ago

I would say that is just part of the problem (the stealing), the expectation that you should be able to retire on investment, leads to the money making money requirement, and if 3% is good 12% is better even if that means cutting labor cost to the point your workforce becomes unstable the more you convince people that one day they too will depend on investment income the easier it is to get certain things through for investors. When in fact few people will ever have sufficient investment income. But by then they have already turned their backs on the union that might of got them a vested retirement. Not that you are wrong about the stealing I left the market early in the 2000’s because it got too hard to find truth.

[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

Were you a financial adviser or stock broker?

[-] 1 points by factsrfun (8310) from Phoenix, AZ 12 years ago

Nuclear operator by trade, trader by hobby, till I was making three times what my bosses were in salary from my investments, started out I was tired of them saying I was jealous, didn’t change my politics or their minds, ended up with me leaving there. But it was the 90’s, and things were different then. I was born this way, I see things, but I don’t wish it on anybody.

[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

So, you did get the last laugh. Good.

[-] 2 points by factsrfun (8310) from Phoenix, AZ 12 years ago

Still see people from time to time Costco, mostly have one friend who is retiring this month I still see. You know the other funny thing is, we were all about the same age back then, now they got to be 20 years older, I guess I stepped out and started the spritual thing just in time, now the winning part don't matter so much and my heart just breaks to see what's happening around us, but hey bit by bit we're going to make it better.

[-] 2 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

Yes, I believe we will.

[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 12 years ago

nurse should be able to set their schedule

order is efficient

[-] 1 points by GirlFriday (17435) 12 years ago

I agree. This is insane.

[-] 1 points by reaclas (-1) 12 years ago

get rid of the unions!!! all of them

[-] 1 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 12 years ago

can't really get rid of unions

worker will organize

[-] 1 points by 1169 (204) 12 years ago

this is a forum that is basically against the "1%" I think amyway, and u say get rid of unions, just about the strongest weapon to fight the enemy wirh some effect, WT..