MINNESOTA NURSING Accent Fall 2016 | Volume 88 No. 3 SUMMER STORM MNA Nurses’ Strike Number 2 In this issue • Negotiations and politics go together like peanut butter and jelly - page 2 • It’s Convention! - page 5 – 7 • MNA nurses on strike - page 19 2 minnesota nursing accent Minnesota Nursing Accent Cover Story Minnesota Nurses Association 345 Randolph Avenue, Ste. 200 Saint Paul, MN 55102 Politics and collective bargaining 651-414-2800/800-536-4662 Fall 2016 are like peanut butter and jelly PUBLISHER Rose Roach Imagine how much easier life would be if you could elect your own boss. Or your MANAGING EDITORS boss’ boss. Barb Brady In a nutshell, that’s how politics and collective bargaining intersect. Chris Reinke The people we elect to public office hold great power over our working lives by set- BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: ting policies that affect healthcare, our workplaces, public health, unions, and our nursing Mary Turner, RN licenses. 1st Vice President: Just look at Wisconsin, where the governor and Legislature have severely undermined Bernadine Engeldorf, RN 2nd Vice President: unions in a very short period of time. Deb Haugen, RN The connection between politics and contracts is especially important in 2016, as Secretary: Jennifer Michelson, RN many of MNA’s bargaining units are in difficult contract negotiations, and important elec- Treasurer: tions are this November. Judy Russell-Martin, RN Electing legislators who support nursing issues, whether Republican, Democrat or In- Directors: dependent, is increasingly important. Here are some examples: Sandie Anderson, RN Laurie Bahr, RN Allina negotiations Amy Buggert, RN MNA nurse negotiations with Allina and Twin Ports Essentia this year are a perfect Pat Dwyer, RN Tammy Fritze, RN example of the importance of politics in our lives. Jody Haggy, RN During the course of the Allina and Essentia campaigns we have had more than 75 Elaina Hane, RN elected officials and candidates join members on the picket line to show support. Melissa Hansing, RN Robin Henderson, RN Additionally, we have had dozens more send letters and make phone calls to Allina Diane Johnson, RN asking them to bargain a fair contract with MNA nurses. Susan Kreitz, RN Each of these elected officials has used his or her own political capital to help push Sarah Lake, RN Candy Matzke, RN Allina toward compromise with nurses. Doreen McIntyre, RN Additionally, they have shown Allina nurses that, not only is the public with them, so Theresa Peterson, RN Katherine Quarles, RN are many power brokers across the state. Juli Uzlik, RN Track replacement nurses Office Hours: MNA used information from the Minnesota Board of Nursing to track the number of Monday-Friday 8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. temporary nursing licenses issued to replacement workers before the Allina ULP nurses Subscriptions Published: strike in June. March, June, September, December This valuable information helped us measure when Allina started to hire replace- Opinions ments and how many nurses they were hiring, which helped us in planning. All opinions submitted are subject to the approval of the publisher, who reserves It also helped us to identify “bad apple” nurses after the fact. the right to refuse any advertising content which does not meet standards of acceptance And if MNA had not worked to elect nurse-friendly legislators who then worked to of the Minnesota Nurses Association. help prevent the nurse licensure compact from coming to Minnesota, this wouldn’t have Minnesota Nursing Accent been the case. (ISSN 0026-5586) is published four times annually by the Instead, we wouldn’t know anything about the replacement workers, including where Minnesota Nurses Association they were from, who they were and when they were coming. 345 Randolph Avenue, Ste. 200, Saint Paul, MN 55102. In short, we would have lost valuable information and put patients at higher risk. Periodicals Postage paid at Saint Paul, MN and additional mailing Stop anti-union proposals offices. Postmaster, please send address Just this past session, an anti-union legislator proposed a bill that would hurt collec- changes to: Minnesota Nurses Association 345 Randolph Avenue, Ste. 200 Political and collective bargaining cont. on page 17 Saint Paul, MN 55102. 3 minnesota nursing accent Executive Director’s Column Why are we involved in politics? One of the most common questions I hear from MNA vember. It’s time we finally get safe nurses is, “Why are nurses and unions involved in politics?” staffing in all hospitals. They tell me MNA is a professional organization and should fo- There’s also a direct connection cus only on the nursing practice. between contract negotiations and My answer is that involvement in politics is focusing on our political involvement. the nursing practice. We must elect and work with people who Just look at the number of elected support nurses in order to advocate for our patients and the officials who showed up at the Allina nursing profession. and Essentia picket lines this summer. Nurses see the effects of public policies – good and bad – Their presence and words of encouragement show the at the bedside every day. Nurses know what needs to change. value of MNA nurses supporting pro-nurse candidates. There’s no one more qualified to speak up for patients than MNA nurse door knocking, phone banking, lobbying at RNs. It’s not only what nurses have done throughout history the Capitol, and building relationships with elected officials do – it’s a responsibility nurses take very seriously. We’ve been at work. the forefront of social change for generations. They are listening to us. That’s the first step in winning Nurses advocate for patients at the bedside and in the legislation that benefits our patients, our profession, and our community. Nurses are involved in many issues, such as sin- communities. gle-payer healthcare, a $15 minimum wage, and earned sick and safe time because they directly affect patients and public health. We know that poverty and limited access to healthcare Roach named to state healthcare leader list are factors in people’s health. So fighting for policies that lift MNA Executive Director Rose Roach was honored as one of people out of poverty makes absolute sense for nurses. the state’s top healthcare leaders by a physician’s publication in For instance, I represent MNA nurses as the co-chair of the August. St. Paul Earned Safe and Sick Time Task Force, which studied Roach is one of Minnesota Physician’s 100 influential Minne- and made recommendations on extending earned sick and sota healthcare leaders. safe time to all employees in the city. I know that nurses care Minnesota Physician releases the list every four years to rec- deeply about the health of their communities because they ognize “100 leaders who help make healthcare in Minnesota a see health as a public good, so ensuring that workers have ac- global model of excellence.” cess to earned safe and sick time fits that vision. Each was asked to answer questions about changes and Policy changes come from the people we elect to office at challenges in healthcare. Here are Executive Director Roach’s all levels. We must elect candidates who support nurse issues comments: and will back our positions after they’re in office. That’s the Changes: For decades, we have promoted effective RN staffing only way to make real change for our patients and our profes- and safe working conditions for both patients and registered sion. nurses in direct patient care, policy, and political arenas. In 2015, We know the Safe Patient Standard battle, MNA’s top pri- we partnered with police officers to create a law that established ority, will be won at the legislative level and not at the bargain- violence committees, preparedness plans, and de-escalation ing table, no matter what some people may say. training. We also worked on system reforms to recognize health- Imagine if we could persuade the Legislature to create a care as a human right. Safe Patient Standard! We could stop fighting at the negotiat- Challenges: We want a Safe Patient Standard based on a nurse’s ing table for safe staffing and focus on other important issues. professional judgment of acuity, census, and daily needs. We What a relief that would be! need procedures to keep healthcare workers and patients safe In the meantime, MNA nurses keep trying to negotiate from violent assaults in hospitals. We want to focus legislative, safe staffing in contracts throughout Minnesota this year, but educational, and organizing efforts by advocating for the creation management is often unwilling to even discuss the issue. of universal publicly financed, privately delivered healthcare. That’s why we need pro-nurse candidates elected this No- Congratulations Rose! 4 minnesota nursing accent MNA Organizational Goals and President’s Column Priorities for 2016 MNA Mission Statement 1. Promote the professional, economic, and personal Vote nurses’ values: Convention 2016 well-being of nurses. I used to believe that you have to be a Democrat 2. Uphold and advance excellence, integrity, and autonomy in the practice of nursing. to be involved in MNA because we only support Dem- 3. Advocate for quality care that is accessible and ocratic candidates and issues. affordable for all. The purpose of the Minnesota Nurses Association, a union As a born-and-raised Republican, it was easy to of professional nurses with unrestricted RN membership, buy into that myth and stay out of union activities. shall be to advance the professional, economic, and gen- eral well-being of nurses and to promote the health and However, in 2010 I received my wake-up call! well-being of the public. These purposes shall be unre- stricted by considerations of age, color, creed, disability, Metro nurses were fighting for their contract, gender, health status, lifestyle, nationality, race, religion, or and it was time for me to finally get involved.