September  2010
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Latest News

7/29/2010  VOTE ON THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT!

Please be sure to vote on the tentative agreement! Voting ends at midnight on 8/3/10, and ballots will be counted on 8/4/10. You have your choice of three different methods of voting. Pick only one method for voting (the ballot committee will be discarding any duplicate votes)

ON-LINE (preferred – fast and easy)

Got to www.stcharlesnursing.org Click on “nurses” on the left side menu bar, and go to “log on”. Log on using your user name and password. A button will appear to allow you to vote on the contract. There are also links to the summary of the tentative agreement, and to the draft language changes. If you forgot your user name or password, click the “log on help” button.

ON SITE

On site voting will be Friday, July 30th

0730 – 0930 Classroom E

1100 – 1300 Classroom B

1930 – 2130 Classroom E

BY MAIL

You can download a mail in ballot at www.stcharlesnursing.org ; mail in to St Charles Nursing Bargaining Unit, PO Box 7645, Bend 97708. You must SIGN your name on the back of the envelope, and also PRINT your name on the back of the envelope (ballot committee must check to make sure mail voters and/or on site voters did not vote on-line). Mail in ballots must be received by midnight 8/3/10.

Finally, in response to a couple of questions that have come in by e-mail or phone

1.      A majority vote of participating voters will determine the outcome. So make sure that your vote is received!

2.      The summary of tentative agreements lists the highlights; and the link to language changes lists all changed language. The Hospital DID drop their proposal to change the cafeteria discount.

Thanks to all of you, and be sure to vote!

Your negotiating team

7/23/2010  SUMMARY OF TENTATIVE AGREEMENT

In a marathon mediation session (ending at 5 a.m. on 7/23/10) ONA and St Charles - Bend reached a tentative agreement. The ONA team is unanimously recommending the package for ratification by the members; management is also recommending this package. At the end of the day, we feel both sides worked hard to reach an agreement that both of us can recommend.

The negotiating team GREATLY appreciates the support of all of you during these difficult negotiations. Thank you for wearing buttons, distributing newsletters, being CAT team members, joining the Welcome Wagon, signing petitions, and participating in Brown Bag Week (July 19-26). We are VERY pleased that we have this tentative agreement.

Voting is planned to begin next week. We will set up informational meetings and voting information; a separate e-mail about voting will go out early next week.

Your negotiating team,

Duke Sells, Joe Sack, Jane Youngs, Judy Gage-Scott, Debby Griffith, Ken Marks, Jody Holland, Shannon Ogden, and ONA Labor Relations Representative Alison Hamway

Highlights of the tentative agreement include:

Term/Wages/Pay issues

2 year contract

Wage increase 1% 7/1/10; 2% 7/1/11; ½ % 1/1/12

1 ¾ callback for designated mandatory standby units (Angio Cath, Cardiac Cath Lab, Dialysis, MDU, OR, PACU, Radiology)

Benefits

Implement new health plan 1/1/11; we were able to get slight improvements in the plan which will apply to everyone (plan will include 25% SCHS hospital owned technical services discount physically located in Bend, Redmond or Prineville hospital; this discount doesn’t apply to professional services. Also improved Tier 3 ER and Urgent care reimbursement – 70% reimbursement and WON’T be subject to deductible). Caregiver only portion of the premium will shift by 5% increase for that portion of premium:

Position            Hospital Portion of Premium

Employee      Dependent

Full-time            95%      85%

60 hours per pay            95%      70%

period to full-time

48 hours per pay            70%      50%

period to 59 hours

40 hours per pay            60%      50%

period to 47 hours

(change in premiums at current plan costs at various levels would range from increase $32.69 monthly to decrease $46.43 monthly)

EIB/Short Term Disability:

Nurses hired after July 1, 2010 will be placed in the new STD plan effective 1/1/11. Current nurses will have option to remain in EIB program or move into STD on 1/1/11 (if nurse enrolls during 11/10 open enrollment, nurse can retain and use EIB bank; all EIB must be used before STD benefits start. Nurses who change to STD during open enrollment in future years will not be eligible to retain EIB accounts). All use of EIB will require verification and reporting requirements.

STD will pay benefits on 8th day of illness, or on first day if hospitalized 24 hours; benefits paid for 13 weeks for qualifying illness/injury. Pays for caregiver only, and only pays for period of time disabled. Replacement ratio:

      1-3 years service – 66 2/3%

      4-9 years service – 75%

      10+ years of service – 100%

NO language that would allow management to change benefits midterm

Language changes

Kept our successorship language

Improved options for laid off RN; clarified and improved layoff procedure

Kept ETO levels (including 15 year level) – however maximum number of hours for earning benefits will now be capped at 2080 hours per year.

Continue additional 24 ETO hours for nurses who after 12 years fulltime employment request every weekend off but are required by Hospital to work weekends (if nurse requests weekend off he/she will not receive extra ETO)

PNCC language improved; enhanced committee participation in collaborative relationship with SCHS

Some limits on premium pay (will only kick in after 72 hours worked in pay period; nurse won’t be eligible if nurse has requested low census prior to start of a shift)

Premium plus now called “critical needs shift”; offered at management discretion; compensation remains at 1.5x + $12/hr (offered to both fulltime and part-time nurses)

No change to meal discount language

ONA representatives will be paid for participating in meeting or work group at management request will be compensated at straight time hourly rate

Step increases will not be contingent on performance review “meets standards”; but denial of step increase (for just cause) now added to list of disciplinary options that can be given for just cause; subject to grievance procedure

Low Census call off:

Float rotation list will be separate from low census list

Both sides have agreed to move to low census rotation based on cumulative hours of HR over prior 28 days; this change will be worked through LMC when Hospital upgrades payroll/time computer system (estimated time will be early 2011)

Add option by mutual agreement for nurse to report to work at scheduled time (delayed start) for remaining portion of shift at straight time (4 hours minimum); add standby by mutual agreement for portion of shift. If called in on cancelled shift RN will not receive travel time due to it being the nurse’s regular shift.

ICC and AirLink Letter of Agreement: will continue to be negotiated in small group

7/13/2010  MEDIATION REPORT 7/12

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7/8/2010  LMC REPORT FROM 6/21/10

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7/1/2010  CONTRACT EXTENDS; O/N

Several nurses have asked “what happens now that our contract has expired?” Because we are still in negotiations, our current contract is extended through the negotiations period. All terms and conditions that are currently in the contract remain in place while we are in negotiations.

Mediation with federal mediator Darrel Clark is scheduled for July 12th, and July 20th through 22nd.

Also I did want to recognize SCHS for working very hard to try to save jobs in the recent staffing change at Ortho Neuro. Because the patient census dropped on an on-going basis, the core number of staff in the O/N unit was changed. Nursing managers in several departments (FBC, Medical, Surgical, and PCS) posted positions and tried to make sure the six least senior nurses who received lay-off notices would be able to find an RN position in O/N or another Department. ONA also worked with the Hospital in this effort. Our mutual goal is to keep nurses employed at St Charles.

Alison Hamway

ONA Labor Relations Representative

6/21/2010  LABOR MANAGEMENT REPORT 5/25/10

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6/17/2010  NEGOTIATIONS NEWS 6/16/10

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6/11/2010  NEGOTIATIONS NEWS JUNE 9TH

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6/7/2010  JUNE 2ND NEGOTIATIONS NEWS

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5/28/2010  NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE FOR MAY 26, 2010

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5/24/2010  BARGAINING UPDATE MAY 19, 2010

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5/18/2010  INSURANCE BARGAINING HISTORY WITH MANAGEMENT

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5/13/2010  NEGOTIATIONS NEWS 5/12/10

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5/11/2010  LMC: O/N SURGICAL MERGER; HR INCREASED

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5/7/2010  BARGAINING NEWS, ISSUES, EVENTS

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4/28/2010  STAFFING LAW FORUMS

What do YOU think about Nurse Staffing?

ONA wants to know what you think about Oregon’s Nurse Staffing Law. ONA is hosting a series of forums for direct-care RNs across the state to discuss the value of Oregon’s Nurse Staffing Law: What’s staffing like at your facility? Are you part of the staffing committee? Do you know how to provide input? What’s working and what’s not? How could the law be better?

Tell ONA what you think by attending this open forum: Oregon Nurse Staffing: What’s Your Position? Forums are coming up in La Grande, Bend, Medford, North Bend, Eugene, Salem and Portland.

The BEND forum will be Tuesday, June 22nd, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at Bend's Community Center (boardroom), 1036 NE 5th.

To find a forum near you and add to the discussion CLICK HERE.

Or

To find a forum near you and add to the discussion go to www.OregonRN.org and click on Government Relations.

4/19/2010  MANAGEMENT PROPOSES TAKEBACKS; MTG 4/20

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3/11/2010  TAKE SURVEY!

If you have not completed the bargaining survey, please do so promptly. We need the results in order to prepare our proposals for negotiations. We want YOUR input. To date approximately 190 nurses have taken the survey.

Some nurses have forgotten how to log in and take the survey, or don’t know how to change their e-mail address or personal information. Here are the instructions:

If you forgot your user name/password, go to www.stcharlesnursing.org Click on “registered nurses” on the left side menu bar and go to “log in help” on the user menu. Enter your e-mail address using the e-mail address that you used to when you originally registered.

The automated system will mail back the user name and password to the original e-mail address. To reset an e-mail address or change password (e.g., to change to a non CHC e-mail address) log in using the old e-mail address, user name, and password. Then on the top menu bar, click on “my info” to change e-mail, change password, change unit, etc.

Hope this helps. If your original e-mail is no longer functional, e-mail me the correct e-mail address and I can change it administratively (but I can’t make any changes to the user name or password)

And remember – fill out that survey! We plan to close access to the survey in approximately one week.

Alison

3/9/2010  LMC 2/23: HR INCREASED, BARGAINING SCHEDULED

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