From the Massachusetts Nurse Newsletter
February 2009 Edition
Baystate Franklin Medical Center
The MNA bargaining at Baystate Franklin Medical Center recently held its annual dinner at Chandler’s Restaurant. Mark Garmalo and Jane Laferriere worked hard to get everything organized smoothly. Diane Scherrer, the MNA’s Western Massachusetts community organizer, was on hand to show a short film about the MNA.
Donna Stern was elected vice-chair and will continue to do the job of providing MNA orientation to new hires. Robin Tibbetts was elected representative for Spoke 4 and Christina Markwell for the ED.
Joanne Ostrowski and Cindy Caldwell recently started attending committee meetings on a regular basis. According to Caldwell, members of case management have found that by attending labor/management meetings they were able to make progress with some long-standing difficulties they had in their department.
Iris Vicencio-Rasku, in coordination with Niki Jamieson of the MNA, has been developing a beautiful Web page for the BFMC bargaining unit. The page will be accessible through the MNA Web site.
While these exciting advancements continue, the committee is working to improve working conditions by focusing on committee meetings, labor/management meetings, and new committees dedicated to workplace violence and mid-shift floating. The bargaining unit is also in the midst of producing its next newsletter, assisting with grievances and preparing for the next contract negotiations.
