As reports of understaffing soar, Minnesota plummets in hospital safety rankings

October 29, 2015 by

nursespicket-web22Minnesota plummeted in a nationwide ranking of hospital safety released yesterday, but that came as no surprise to nurses, whose reports of unsafe staffing incidents in hospitals statewide have doubled over the last 12 months.

Minnesota fell from 15th to 32nd in the Hospital Safety Score rankings, based on the percentage of hospitals that receive an “A” grade in each state. Grades are determined using data collected from hospitals, including errors, injuries, accidents, infections and 28 other key patient safety metrics, and they reflect a hospital’s “overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.”

Just 18 percent of Minnesota hospitals that participated in reporting received an “A” grade, and 17 of 38 hospitals received “C” or “D” grades. Nationwide, 31 percent of reporting hospitals scored an “A” rating for patient safety.

Linda Hamilton, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, said the state’s hospitals should be leading – not lagging – when it comes to safe patient care.

“Nurses in Minnesota are saddened that patients in our hospitals are not receiving the care they need,” Hamilton said. “Hospitals need to assure patients that the care they receive isn’t being compromised by financial decisions that affect patient safety.”

The statewide nurses union has seen a major uptick in reports of unsafe staffing since Oct. 27, 2014. The 2,765 Concern for Safe Staffing Forms filed by nurses over that time period is more than double the number filed in the previous 12-month period.

Nurses file Concern for Safe Staffing forms with the MNA to track incidents of hospitals not scheduling enough nurses to meet patients’ needs. Hamilton, a bedside nurse at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, said the reports reflect “only the most critical of situations.”

“Understaffing patient care is dangerous,” she said. “That is why we speak out by calling our managers and by filling out these reports. When these nurse staffing situations become more frequent, patients pay the price.”

The Hospital Safety Score rankings are published twice a year by the Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit organization focused on hospital transparency.

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NLRB: North Memorial responded to staffing campaign with harassment, retaliation

October 30, 2014 by
Union nurses and health care workers picketed outside North Memorial June 26.

Union nurses and health care workers picketed outside North Memorial June 26.

North Memorial Hospital illegally retaliated against union nurses and health care workers who participated in a campaign to fight staffing cuts and protect patient safety at the Robbinsdale hospital, according to a complaint issued this week by the Minneapolis-based Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board.

The complaint finds merit to charges of unfair labor practices filed by two unions working together on the staffing campaign at North Memorial, the Minnesota Nurses Association and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota. A press release issued jointly today detailed the unions’ charges.

MNA and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota filed charges with the NLRB after the hospital fired one employee, revoked work agreements and forced employees to work weekends, “repeatedly interrogated” staff about their union activities, warned employees and union staff that talking about unions was prohibited and threatened to file charges if discussions continued – all because they participated in the June picketing.

Members of the two unions staged informational picketing June 26 after hospital management moved unilaterally to cut staffing among nurses, dietary aides, housekeepers and other support workers. The cuts, workers said, made it more difficult for them to provide the quality of care North Memorial’s patients deserve.

Melvin Anderson, an SEIU member who took part in informational picketing, was fired from his position in the sterile processing unit at North Memorial – “a move alleged to be illegal by the NLRB,” according to the unions.

“Despite the challenges that North Memorial’s retaliation has caused for me, I don’t regret for one second that I spoke up for safe staffing levels and patient safety,” Anderson said. “I hope this ruling makes North Memorial understand that they can’t intimidate employees and that it is time to finally address their staffing levels. My co-workers are telling me that recent cuts in staff are putting their safety and patient safety at risk.”

The NLRB will hold a hearing on the case in January. If the board agrees that North Memorial committed unfair labor practices, it could order the hospital to compensate workers who were the target of harassment or retaliation, like Anderson.

Presidents from MNA and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota also commented on the complaint against North Memorial. MNA President Linda Hamilton:

North Memorial management’s actions were outrageous. Hospital staff were exercising their legal rights to a peaceful event to protest staffing plans that could endanger patient safety. The hospital should have used its energy to create safe staffing levels that ensure patient safety and allowed nurses to perform quality work.

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota President Jamie Gulley:

SEIU Healthcare Minnesota members bravely raised their voices to address staffing levels at North Memorial in June, but instead of listening to their front line staff, North Memorial decided instead to retaliate against and even fire workers who took part in the informational picket. The ruling Tuesday from the NLRB recognized this for what it is: harassment and intimidation. As staffing levels continue to decline, posing increased risks to patients, North Memorial must stop retaliating against employees and should instead focus on making certain their hospital has safe staffing levels as they care for our families.

View The Union Advocate’s coverage of the June 26 informational picketing in Robbinsdale.

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Postal workers to Staples: ‘The U.S. mail is not for sale!’

April 30, 2014 by

web.staples-staplesU.S. Postal Service employees from the Twin Cities rallied with supporters April 24 outside a Staples store in Roseville, part of a nationwide day of action opposing plans to put USPS service counters inside Staples locations across the country.

Already, 82 Staples stores in Georgia, California, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts house USPS service counters, and postal administrators hope to expand to other locations – and, potentially, other retail chains – if the pilot program is successful.

But union members at the rally decried the pilot program as a privatization scheme that threatens middle-class jobs and undermines the security of the mail.

Supporters of the Stop Staples campaign march outside the Roseville location during a nationwide day of action.

Supporters of the Stop Staples campaign march outside the Roseville location during a nationwide day of action.

All four unions representing USPS workers – the American Postal Workers Union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Postal Mail Handlers and the Rural Letter Carriers – are united in opposition to the program.

“For a while we splintered, but we’re standing together on this,” said Dan Garhofer, president of St. Paul-based Branch 28 of the Letter Carriers.

“If you pick on one of us, you get all of us,” added Mike Zagaros, president of Branch 9 in Minneapolis. “That’s what unions are all about.”

Increased access – at a cost

The Staples plan won support from Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe as a way to increase public access to postal services, but postal union members raised several objections at the rally.

Allowing Staples employees to do postal work, they said, undermines the security of the mail. Uniformed postal workers swear an oath to protect the safety and security of the mail. They must pass a background check before being hired, and, once on the job, they go through trainings that equip them to uphold their oath.

Additionally, workers say the pilot program threatens USPS jobs, which offer middle-class wages and benefits, in favor of low-wage, high-turnover jobs like the ones at Staples.

“This is an attack on the postal unions,” Zagaros said. “This is an attack on the middle class. This is an attack on good-paying jobs.”

AFSCME Council 5's Eliot Seide pledges support for postal workers.

AFSCME Council 5’s Eliot Seide pledges support for postal workers.

Community support

The rally drew about 100 people, including U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, a DFLer from Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, and Mike Obermueller, the DFL-endorsed candidate in the state’s 2nd District.

Ellison called the Postal Service “the great American melting pot” when it comes to providing middle-class employment, and he noted its commitment to hiring military veterans upon their re-entry into the workforce.

The strong turnout, Ellison added, was proof postal workers are not alone in the fight to stop Staples. “May America always stand with the post office,” Ellison said. “You are not alone. We are with you. Do not put our mail up for sale.”

Representatives of other unions, including the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation, also pledged support for the Stop Staples campaign.

“We want the profits from the Postal Service to go back into the Postal Service, not some CEO’s pocket,” Minnesota Nurses Association President Linda Hamilton said.

Added Eliot Seide, director of Council 5 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees: “Staples can sell paperclips, but they can’t sell the mail. We won’t stop until Staples gives up its claim, and the mail is handled by professional postal employees.”

St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper speaks at the Stop Staples rally in Roseville.

St. Paul Regional Labor Federation President Bobby Kasper speaks at the Stop Staples rally in Roseville.

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