Contact: Shar Anderson, RN, Staff Council President
Lenawee Health Alliance Registered Nurse Association
517/605-8771

OR

Lisa Harrison, Esq.
Michigan Nurses Association
517/349-5640 x38 or (cell) 517/927-6344
Lisa.harrison@minurses.org

OR

Carol Feuss, MA
Labor Communications Specialist
Michigan Nurses Association
517/349-5640, ext. 21 or (cell) 517/230-4086
carol.feuss@minurses.org

August 25, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

REGISTERED NURSES SCHEDULED TO PICKET LENAWEE HEALTH ALLIANCE
RNs working without a contract; negotiations stalled

Adrian, MI – Registered Nurses, represented by the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), are planning to picket at both Lenawee Health Alliance’s (LHA) locations early next month.

MNA served LHA notice today that two informational pickets are scheduled for Wednesday, September 6:

The nurses’ demonstration is intended to expose management’s union-busting tactics and put the focus back on the issues that are holding up contract negotiations. Although both state and local mediators are involved in the negotiations, little progress has been made.

Lenawee Health Alliance, a member of Toledo-based ProMedica Health System, has proposed contract language that would allow the management to reduce or eliminate health insurance and paid leave benefits solely at their discretion. This proposal is a large part of the reason for the stalled contract talks.

“We cannot, nor will we, agree to give the right to the hospital to change our health insurance and paid leave at any time during the contract without negotiations. This is clearly an attempt by the hospital to break the union and does nothing towards reaching an agreement,” said Shar Anderson, RN Staff Council President of the Lenawee Health Alliance Registered Nurses Association.

Management’s proposed changes come on the heels of a decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled in the Michigan Nurses Association’s favor when LHA tried to change the nurses’ health insurance benefits, ignoring the terms of their contract. The Alliance also lost the case in arbitration. “It’s time for the Hospital to lick its wounds and bruised ego and negotiate a fair contract for the nurses,” “stated Lisa Harrison, chief negotiator for the Union.

“We’re in a serious nursing shortage and competition is increasing for nurses’ services among area hospitals,” says Anderson. “How can we retain our current nursing staff and recruit the new nurses needed to provide safe, quality care when management is proposing to reduce time off and compromise our ability to get health care for ourselves? A weakened health plan and a reduced paid leave policy will do nothing to reduce the rate of RN turnover and eliminate the high dissatisfaction levels of nursing staff.”

The RNs at both Bixby and Herrick hospitals have been working without a contract since June 30, and because of the lack of progress in negations, voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The MNA nurses have not yet served LHA management with a “intent to strike” notice, which would give Bixby and Herrick hospitals time to make alternative arrangement to move critical patients, delay elective surgeries, etc.

-###-

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.