Help campaign for better nursing conditions
If you want working conditions for nurses changed, "Get involved and help get it done!"
That was the message PEF Nurses Committee Chair Brian Hyde delivered to the 100 PEF convention delegates attending the annual Nurses Luncheon at the October convention in Rochester.
Luncheon keynote speaker Jamie Cohen, Coordinator of the SEIU Nurse Alliance, echoed Hyde's advice.
As she travels the country talking with nurses, Cohen said she often hears stories of unsafe staffing, violence in the workplace, needlesticks, excessive overtime and many other issues.
Hyde said many PEF nurses experience similarly difficult working conditions and too often find managers slow or unwilling to address them.
If these issues are of concern to you, too, but you feel too overwhelmed to tackle them entirely on your own, take heart. Help is available.
You should work with your PEF steward and labor-management committee, and the PEF Nurses Committee.
But as a PEF nurse, your resources don't stop there. You are fortunate to have the support of two International unions in your battles to address the working conditions of nurses.
The Service Employees International Union addresses the needs of nurses and other health workers through the SEIU Nurse Alliance with a membership of 105,000.
PEF's other international affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, is also a very active advocate for nurses issues. Its Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (FNHP) represents approximately 50,000 members.
Both FNHP and the SEIU Nurse Alliance work at the national level and assist at the local level to resolve a variety of nursing work-place concerns. Both groups have provided support to PEF nurses including information, research and support for contract negotiations.
Every year, PEF nurses are becoming more assertive and effective in addressing critical issues such as staffing, safe needles, workplace violence, and whistleblower protection.
Coalitions with the Nurse Alliance, FNHP and other unions will be a key to success in pushing for solutions at the state and/or national level.
But success at every level, from your worksite to Washington, requires your personal involvement.
1 Share your concerns with others
2 Help collect data
3 Grieve contract violations
4 Bring issues to your labor-management committee
5 Support coworkers and workplace initiatives
6 Stay informed
7 Write a letter to the editor
8 Call or write your legislator