St. Mary's Reno Nurses Look To Join Up With 10,000 Catholic Healthcare West Colleagues - RNs Announce Effort To Win Representation

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 26 Sep 2007 - 16:00 PDT

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Registered nurses from St. Mary's Hospital in Reno, seeking protection in their role as patient advocates and better care for their patients along with major improvements in pay and benefits, will announce on Monday their intention to join the National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association (NNOC/CNA). In doing so, they will unite with 10,000 of their Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) RN colleagues at 25 hospitals in California in the NNOC/CNA. The nurses will gather for the announcement at the Sixth St. entrance of St. Mary's, between West and Arlington.

Under an organizing agreement negotiated by NNOC/CNA, RNs at St Mary's gain enhanced rights to organize once at least 30% request NNOC/CNA representation. That threshold has now been crossed, thanks to a groundswell of RN support for the union. Among other provisions effective once the 30% threshold has been crossed, CHW grants access to the facilities for nurses to meet with NNOC/CNA members and representatives, and pledges to not intimidate or harass the nurses engaged in union organizing. In addition, the agreement allows for a prompt election to certify the desire of St. Mary RNs to gain NNOC/CNA representation.

The announcement comes on the heels of a ground-breaking contract for thousands of Southern California CHW RNs negotiated by NNOC/CNA. That contract included key patient safety proposals, such as incorporating the state's mandated nurse-to-patient ratio as well nationally-significant language that deployment of new technology will not limit the RNs in the exercise of their clinical judgment. CHW in California also agreed to provisions improving their ability to recruit and retain nurses, such as enhanced retirement security, no healthcare takeaways, and protection of nurse union rights in the face of the Bush NLRB regressive decisions.

"Nevada RNs have the opportunity to be part of the national nurses movement, and a powerful organization of 10,000 CHW RNs working together for better patient care," said Jill Furillo, RN, NNOC/CNA's CHW director. "At the nurses' request, we plan to work with them to build a strong RN movement in Nevada, with the NNOC/CNA. Nevada RNs deal with the same issues and problems as those in California, which is why it's important that we are together in a single, powerful RN organization to negotiate with Catholic Healthcare West." The union also plans to organize RNs at other Reno area hospitals, said Furillo. "We anticipate that all RNs in Reno will soon be represented by a single, powerful organization."

"Nurses need a stronger voice and real representation in patient care issues," said Amy Barats, an Emergency Room RN at St. Mary's. "We are joining NNOC/CNA because they are leading the national nurses movement, and having a positive impact on patient care in hospitals across the country. We need that same spirit here at St. Mary's."

Diane Foxen, RN, chose to leave St. Mary's five years ago to work in a California hospital, and reports, "Every nurse should have the opportunity to work in the supportive patient care environment that CNA has achieved here in California."

About NNOC

The National Nurses Organizing Committee, founded by the California Nurses Association, is a national movement for registered nurses, advance practice nurses, and RN organizations throughout the country who want to pursue a more powerful agenda of patient advocacy that promotes the interests of patients, direct-care nurses, and RN professional practice.

http://www.calnurses.org