Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 11, 1995 TAG: 9506100004
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAROL KLEIMAN CHICAGO TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A successful battle against reducing the number of nurses and replacing them with lesser trained, unlicensed staff was waged by 850 registered nurses - 95 percent of them women - at the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics in Chicago.
The result in January was a landmark agreement after two years of negotiations.
Ordinarily workers have little power to turn around an executive decision to cut jobs. The only hope is to negotiate the best exit deal you can get.
Unless you belong to a union. And unless management is willing to listen to you.
The nurses had both: They are represented by the highly respected Illinois Nurses Association, which works for its 8,000 members statewide in collective bargaining and advocacy for nurses. The union is a constituent of the American Nurses Association in Washington.
And, despite the inevitable legal wrangling, the University of Illinois hospital bargained in good faith, reinforcing its commitment to high-quality care.
``We recognized that, in this period of rapid change in health care, we would benefit more by working with the union than by being antagonistic,'' said Sidney E. Mitchell, director of the hospital.
The result is a precedent-setting contract with the hospital and the union's first victory against downsizing.
``Our victory has implications for nurses locally and nationally who are fighting hospital management's efforts to sacrifice patient care and restructure nurses out of their jobs,'' said Michelle Courtier, association staff specialist in labor relations, who spearheaded the campaign.
Courtier, a veteran organizer, says her two concerns are ``social justice and women's rights.'' Her work with the association ``combines the two.'' The negotiations began, she says, in 1992, when the hospital announced its restructuring plans in an effort to save money.
A 1995 survey by the American Nurses Association shows serious problems occur when any hospital reduces its nursing staff.
``It wasn't a typical union contract negotiation but was interim bargaining,'' said Courtier. ``The nurses heard in the wind that downsizing was coming, and when it did, we organized, developed a plan to fight it and went toe to toe for two years.''
The nurses were concerned, Courtier says, because the number of registered nurses would be reduced and the difference in personnel would be made up of ``less skilled workers who make half the salary" of registered nurses. The hospital expected to save $14 million by restructuring, but the union asserted it would cost money.
After much ``haggling, bargaining and the filing by the union of an unfair labor practice,'' management froze the plan. ``We did leafleting, picketing and went to trustee meetings,'' Courtier said. ``We documented [potential] unsafe staffing at every turn.''
At the trustee meetings, association representatives talked about safety, ``the most compelling argument,'' the organizer says. ``It got the trustees' attention.'' With the appointment of Mitchell in 1994, Courtier said the talks became ``more collaborative.''
The new agreement, a supplement to the existing contract, guaranteed nursing positions, delegation of responsibilities and clarification of supervisory assignments.
It also established a nurse/practice care committee that meets with management to discuss and improve nursing practices and to address nurses' concerns about staffing.
``The committee already is working to develop procedures for nurses to report unsafe staffing situations,'' Courtier said.
Though salary was not the primary issue, the agreement also included a 3.5 percent salary increase.
As nurses have learned to organize on professional issues, Courtier thinks all employed women, ``even if not for purposes of collective bargaining, must learn to join together and voice their concerns.''
by CNB