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

Thanks to RNs who either signed a petition or submitted a letter through our website, the LA County Board of Supervisors has heard our message: PATIENTS FIRST! A delegation of LA County RNs delivered over 1,700 RN signatures on petitions to the LA County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, September 15. These petitions call on the County to partner with nurses to remove current obstacles to quality and develop and implement practical solutions.

Read article from Daily Breeze

Every day, the 6,000 Nurses of L.A. County strive to provide the highest quality patient care. We call on Los Angeles County to partner with nurses to remove current obstacles to quality and develop and implement practical solutions.

Read about our solutions here: RN Solutions to Place Patients First.pdf

"Our solution would enhance our ability to provide the highest level of care for our patients while saving the county money.  But management would have to listen and be open to our ideas."
- Al Thompson, Chair, RN Bargaining Unit

Hundreds of nurses throughout the county are speaking out on behalf of our patients.  We are identifying patient safety violations - violations which endanger patient safety and put our licenses at risk.  At the bargaining table, we have proposed a number of solutions that would put patients first by staffing according to acuity, not just numbers, but management has avoided any responsibility in solving the problem.

During bargaining CEO chief negotiator for Health Services, Robie Mack, shared her sentiments: "I am not a nurse. You have the license. I don't. This is your problem, not mine."

However, it is ultimately LA County management's responsibility to ensure that the thousands of patients who rely on our hospitals and clinics receive safe, quality care. They are the decision makers and right now, we need County leaders to support their nurses!

Take Action to Protect Patients and Our Licenses!

We are circulating a RN petition addressed to the Board of Supervisors. You can help by signing the petition and distributing it to your coworkers. Call Katarina del Valle Thompson at (213) 738-8420 to learn more.

The financial situation in the County is very serious.  My nurse manager is planning for the possibility of LA County closing or reducing days in our outpatient clinics since they will not be able to close hospitals.  Clinics attached to the hospitals are required for the MD residency program.  These programs will probably be the last to go.

"Our competency testing is a move toward achieving excellence in quality patient care and in meeting the needs of the community. We are ensuring patient care safety."
> Romy Agdeppa, RN, Supervising Critical Care Nurse at LAC+USC Medical Center

"Our union is diligently working to ensure that the nursing staff has sufficient time to prepare for the competency exam. The main goal of our union is to promote confidence in each nurse to conquer this exam." - Donna Naylor, RN, G.I. Department, LAC+USC

"It's good to be tested, but we need to be provided with the proper training, information, resources, and adequate time to be able to do it. DHS would do better with a positive approach and not a punitive one."

Glen Magdaleno, Nursing Attendant at Harbor-UCLA