Contact: Jessica Salazar, Labor Representative
Michigan Nurses Association
517/349-5640, ext. 19 or 517/896-8843
jessica.salazar@minurses.org
OR
Carol Feuss, Labor Communications Specialist
Michigan Nurses Association
517/349-5640, ext. 21 or (cell) 517/230-4086
carol.feuss@minurses.org
May 24, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Registered nurses at Lapeer ratify new contract
Key issue was RN's role in non-nursing duties
Lapeer , MI - Registered Nurses at Lapeer Regional Medical Center , represented by the Michigan Nurses Association, ratified a new 3 -year contract last week.
In light of the continued demands on registered nurses across the state, the contract states that LRMC will not routinely pull nurses from direct patient care to perform tasks that are regularly performed by other hospital departments, such as transporting patients, answering the phone and typing orders.
Union President, Eva McQueen, "For every additional task we are assigned, it reduces the time we have to see and care for our patients. Research continues to document that reducing the amount of time we have to care for a patient reduces their quality of care and increases the risk of complications."
The contract provides for parameters on "floating" - which refers to the practice of assigning nurses to work in a different area of the hospital, rather than in their usual unit. This was a major issue for the nurses because of their concerns with patient safety when working in a unit where they were not familiar with the practices and special needs of the patients. "We went into these negotiations wanting to make sure the patients had the right nurse - the nurse with the proper training - caring for them," Laurie Laarman, Medical Surgical nurse representative on the Union 's negotiating committee.
The Hospital agreed to minimum staffing guidelines in each nursing unit that cannot be changed without the Union 's consent. There is now a hospital-based staffing committee - with equal representatives from both the management team and the staff nurses - that will monitor existing staffing guidelines and recommend changes as necessary, monitor floating and excessive overtime and on-call, as well as making recommendations for recruiting and retaining qualified nurses.
Recognizing the need to retain the registered nurses working at LRMC, all RNs salaries were reviewed, and in some cases increased, so that all RNs were being paid at the appropriate level, based on their years of experience. Reflective of the continued demand for RNs, all RNs will receive across the board wage increases of 5% in 2006; 6% in 2007 and 3% in 2008. RNs not at the maximum level of the pay scale will receive an annual step increase of 2-3% until they reach the maximum of the pay scale.
Additional economic improvements included the establishment of a new differential for nurses who precept/orient new staff as well as increases in on-call pay, holiday pay and paid time off. During two years of the agreement, nurses will participate in a variable investment program in which a bonus of up to $500 will be added to their pay or to their tax sheltered annuity.
"Overall, we believe this is a great agreement. Working with the Hospital representatives, we were able to make significant changes that will have a positive impact on LRMC patients and the nurses caring for them. In the future we hope to address pension and retiree health issues for our members who have spent their entire career caring for patients in this community," Eva McQueen, Union President.
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The Michigan Nurses Association, nurses' voice for 100 years, is the largest nurses' union in the State of Michigan. The Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) promotes the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, fosters high standards of nursing practice, and lobbies the legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and recipients of nursing services. MNA is a constituent member of the American Nurses Association and the United American Nurses, as well as an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
