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MNA Members Take To the Streets For Safe Patient
Care
Members of the MNA continued to take their concerns
for safe patient care and a voice in health care decision making
out into their communities. This month we highlight the activities
of the nurses at Jordan Hospital, who held a very successful candlelight
vigil and solidarity rally for safe patient care on the Plymouth
Training Green, along with the nurses of St. Vincent Hospital, who
were the focal point of an historic AFL-CIO Rally on the Steps of
City Hall in Worcester.
On June 24, 1999 more than 200 residents, nurses,
allied health providers and local political and labor leaders turned
out for a Rally and Candlelight Vigil at the Plymouth Training Green
to call for the restoration of safer staffing levels and improved
nurse-to-patient ratios at the Plymouth-based acute care hospital.
The event was designed to raise public awareness
and to generate public pressure on the hospital to reconsider recent
decisions to cut staff at the facility, a policy the nurses’ claim
is threatening the quality of patient care at the facility.
"Staffing at this hospital right now is at
a bare bones level," said Joanne Ford, co-chair of the Massachusetts
Nurses Association bargaining unit at the facility. "The recent
staff reduction has left fewer nurses and support staff to care
for more patients. This is our community hospital. Those with the
most to lose under the current staffing conditions are the patients."
"The system of care has been thrown into chaos
at this facility," said Cece Crowel, RN a member of the bargaining
unit and respected nurse at the hospital. "In attempting to
cut costs and change how we deliver care, they have made it harder
for nurses to do their jobs. In addition, they are justifying their
cuts by claiming we have more staff than other facilities in the
area. What we are saying is you can’t lower your standards for the
bottom line, without decreasing the quality of care patients will
ultimately receive."
To promote the rally and vigil, the Jordan nurses
placed ads in the local papers as well as on radio. In addition,
nurses talked to reporters and generated media stories about the
vigil, as well as appeared on local radio programs to promote the
event. The event itself drew significant media attention in all
the local media outlets, further amplifying the nurses’ call for
public support for their cause. The nurses have also arranged to
march in the 4th of July Parade and have begun a petition
drive within their community for support for their cause. They have
already gathered hundreds of signatures from community members.
Support Builds For St. Vincent Nurses
MNA member nurses at recently organized St. Vincent
Hospital owe a huge debt of gratitude to their colleagues represented
by the AFL-CIO and its grassroots mobilization force, known as Street
Heat. The AFL-CIO has mobilized its membership to stand with the
nurses at St. Vincent throughout their struggle to win a first contract
with Tenet Health Care, the state-s lone for-profit health care
provider.
The nurses organized with the goal of improving
staffing levels and to date, Tenet refuses even to discuss staffing
issues, even though the nurses have filed more unsafe staffing reports
than any of the MNA'’ 85 bargaining units in the state.
The nurses got a big boost from the labor community
on June 25, 1999, when the AFL organized a Street Heat Freedom Ride
across the state. A bus tour of state and national union leaders
traveled across the state with stops in different cities to conduct
rallies in support of union organizing and first contract fights.
A special stop was made in Worcester on behalf of
the St. Vincent nurses. More than 200 supporters, MNA members and
union activists joined the entire Worcester legislative delegation
for a rally calling for Tenet to settle with the nurses and to address
their staffing concerns. A number of nurses from St. Vincent were
featured speakers at the rally.
Debra Rigiero, a St. Vincent's Hospital nurse and
member of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, told the crowd that
she and co-workers voted for a union 16 months ago "to ensure the
ability of nurses to deliver care up to our professional standards.
We will not give up, and with your support, we will win a contract
that protects our patients and ourselves."
The rally featured a petition signing by local political
leaders, expressing their support for the right for workers to have
a voice in their workplace through organizing. Among the politicians
speaking at the Rally, Worcester Mayor Raymond Mariano drew applause
when he complimented the nurse for the difference they make in people’s
lives. "Your work is important," he said. "It strengthens
the entire community." In addition to supporting the St. Vincent
nurses, Mariano has been a staunch supporter of all unionized nurses
in the city, making a strong stand on behalf of the MNA nurses of
the Worcester Public Health Department.
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