RN Contract Wins Professional Advances For All Nurses
Your elected SEIU Local 721 Registered Nurse Bargaining Teams 311 and 312 are proud to report that your participation in your RN Contract Campaign has resulted in a successful 2009-2011 Contract with significant wins for our RN professional practice, quality care and safety of our patients. Let's keep advocating for our patients and our LA County healthcare system!
You will be receiving a ratification ballot in the mail to cast your vote to accept this settlement and to accept your fringe benefits and health care benefits. You will receive, by mail, a detailed summary of all terms of tentative settlement with your ballot. Please review your contract summary and vote to ratify your new contract by mailing back your ballot. Your ballot must be received by 5:00pm on Monday, November 9, 2009. The ballots will be counted on Monday, November 9, 2009 at 6:00pm at SEIU 721 Los Angeles office.
As nurses, we will need to monitor and enforce our new RN contract!
We need RN stewards in every facility and department to protect our RN licenses and advocate for quality care for our patients and clients. We will need to become more active with our SEIU Nurse Alliance of California to protect and strengthen our California Board of Registered Nursing.
Continue reading to view contract details
NEW RN PROFESSIONAL PROTECTIONS IN 2009-2011 CONTRACT (MOU) INCLUDE:
- Current RN annual salary step raises will continue (on your anniversary date)
- RNs will receive notice within five days when exposed to a communicable disease.
- Title 22 staffing ratios for each hospital specialty unit will be in mou appendix.
- RN committee members will appoint two members of each hospital acuity committee.
- Management shall take steps to correct valid complaints over excessive workload.
- Each acute care hospital's rapid deployment plan to be available to union RN committee
- Charge RN shall take appropriate action after notified regarding an unsafe assignment.
- DHS will make every effort to fill all allocated and budgeted RN positions.
- DHS to meet with SEIU 721 RN Task Force to discuss "staffing standardization" which shall include "assignment responsibilities" (e.g. RN supervision of RNs, RN coverage of LVNs, charge and preceptor patient assignments, etc.)
- Every effort to provide adequate numbers of computers in each work location.
- RN may request continuous service date (county seniority), classification anniversary date, salary range level, and/or current salary step from facility/dept. Payroll/personnel.
- Adequate rest/break areas and adequate furniture and storage space to be provided.
- Physical exams to be provided during eve and night shift RN's normal working hours.
- Increased RN bargaining committee members; increased county time to bargain.
- Non-county RN utilized as charge RN or supervisor only if county RN not available.
- When feasible, each RN will be granted continuing education time off.
- New training access - ER, OR, critical care RNs with schedule accommodations.
- New preceptor training program! Work time for weekly preceptee meetings;
- Non-county RN only utilized as preceptor if county RN not available.
- DHS RNs shall be provided with appropriate amount of county time to prepare for competency skills validation.
- RN labor-management committees in facilities and departments - RN member shall have increased preparation time (from one to two hours).
- ADN to MSN degree qualifies for bachelor's degree bonus.
- County intends to respect no mandatory overtime except in emergencies.
The DCFS Labor Management committee has been meeting, trying to get poicy and proceedure in a form that gives PHNs more protection. The use of a Civil Service Law, stating that soemone can be fired if they did not preform up to"expectations" and not have policy puts licenses at risk. DCFS is trying to make PHNs more accountable, like CSWs. Support the Labor Management Team in their quest. However, anyone thinking of a job with DCFS needs to know "they eat their young."
I am bothered by the fact that I never received by mail any information regarding the new "contract". Additionally, since when do RN's, BSN's or NP's not get paid time off (as in our previous contract) for CEU's. As for getting time off for CEU's, good luck since we are always short staffed. Also, anniversary date salary increase? Anniversary date of hire, of change to a new area or? What happened to our cost-of-living salary increase, or should I be asking Schwarzenegger?
Thank you
When are Nurse Practitioners going to be recognized for their work and degrees? There will be many of us with DNP's. We should be compensated for our Degrees ; MSN or DNP. Our issues need to be heard. What about the unfair business of paying much for for a Clinical Nurse Specialist who does LESS WORK than us income producing NP's?
Just to clarify the proposed contract regarding Nurse Practitioners:
a. If you're on step 20, YOU WILL NOT be receiving a raise for at least 2 years. Do note from email correspondence, that the county is still considering RESCINDING the experience steps, which could result in even further income loss. They also have the option to open the contract after the 2 year period and reduce wages.
b. If you're a Nurse Practitioner with a Master's Degree (which most of us are), you are STILL NOT QUALIFIED to receive any compensation for your education; Bachelor's or Master's degree. Yet, all the other BSN nurses will receive that compensation.
Are you sure you really want to pass this contract when it's basically a lose/lose for you???
What exactly is anniversary date? It was supposed to change so that everyones date would be Jan 1st 2007 per last contract!!? During last reclass, some HR personnel said reclass was a promotion and changed anniversary date to date of reclass and deferred MOU defined step increase for 1 year.
I hope this has been solved. I started wok at county April 1997 so should be on step 13 but i am not, others who started with me were changed to step 13th in July 2009, per MOU 2006-2009 that stated everyone should be on correct step by that time?? Can you help me and others obtain our correct step. HR is not answering my queries.
Thanks
Moyna RN spoh steward
Unless a County department , e.g. DHS or DPH , is specified, the MOU provisions apply to everyone. There are several commitments that DHS made that DPH did not make, especially that address acute care issues.
Most MOU provisions provisions absolutely apply to every 311 - 312 RN.
Correction in the 7th line, begining with:
Charge RN shall take appropriate action after noticed regarding an unsafe assignment. The word "noticed" should be "notified". The rest sounds good. Were there any specific changes to DPH area, or do all of these apply to all areas of the county?
Thank you for all of your hard work. It is appreciated!
Denise