REGION 4 ANNUAL REPORT

Transcription

1 REGION 4 ANNUAL REPORT OCTOBER 1, 2016 REGION 4 MASACHUSETTS NURSES ASSOCIATION 50 Salem Street, Building A., Lynnfield, MA

2 Annual Report MNA Regional Council 4 October 2016 Officers Chair Patricia Comeau, Methuen School Nurses Vice Chair Brian Zahn, Lawrence Public Health Chair Treasurer David Guiney, Tewksbury Hospital DPH Chair, Unit 7 representative Secretary Norma Ouellette, Lawrence General hospital We bid fond farewell to Maureen Travis who served on Regional Council for seven years was our Secretary for the past five years. She retired this summer. Other Members of Regional Council Janice Bacon/Lori Trites/Terri Furlong, Wilmington School Nurses Co-Chairs Gayle Burke, Holy Family Hospital Co-Chair Elizabeth Collins, Beverly Hospital Lisa Cyr-Wilmot/Christine Campbell, Anna Jaques Hospital Co-Chairs Sarah Dedrick, Methuen School Nurses Chair Jane Emery/Julia O Brien, Merrimack Valley Hospital Co-Chairs Tracy Fernald, Bedford Public Health Chair Sue Hall, Addison Gilbert Hospital, Northeast Hospital Chair designee Diane Lee, Lawrence General Hospital Chair Kay Marshall, Anna Jaques Hospital, Region 4 Member of MNA Board of Directors Tammy Normand, Gloucester School Nurses Chair Kathy Schevis/Kellie O Brien, NSMC Salem Hospital Co-Chairs Doreen Swartz, Haverhill School Nurses Chair James Winnett, Whidden Hospital/Cambridge Health Alliance, Region 4 Member of MNA Board of Directors Staff: Ryan Berard, Community Organizer Peggy O Malley, Office Manager Activities and Accomplishments Education MNA Continuing Education Programs All six of our Region 4 CE programs were well-received. Attendance has ranged from 78 to 137. The high quality and relevance of the programs is appreciated not only by those working in our MNA facilities and those working in other settings. The following facilities have been represented at our programs this past year: Action Ambulance Addison Gilbert Hospital Andover Surgery Center Anna Jaques Hospital Best Doctors Beverly Hospital Boston Medical Center Brigham and Women s Hospital Brooksby Village Cambridge Health Alliance/Cambridge Hospital Cambridge Health Alliance/Whidden Hospital Chelsea Soldiers Home Commonwealth Care Alliance 1

3 Gloucester School Nurses Greystone Farm Assisted Living Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Medford Haverhill School Nurses Holy Family Hospital Lawrence General Hospital Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Leonard Morse Hospital Massachusetts Department of Development Services Danvers: Hogan Regional Center Northeast Region, Hathorne Unit Lawrence: Merrimack Valley office Massachusetts Department of Public Health Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Massachusetts General Hospital Methuen School Nurses Merrimack Valley Hospital Northeast Physicians Hospital Organization Newton School Nurses Newton-Wellesley Hospital North Shore Medical Center/Salem Hospital St. Elizabeth s Hospital Tewksbury Hospital Whidden Hospital Wilmington School Nurses, and Retired Nurses These programs are planned by the Regional Council based upon the requests of our members and in collaboration with MNA Associate Director Mary Sue Howlett of the MNA Nursing Division. MNA Labor School The past year has been the busiest and best attended ever for Region 4 Labor School classes with MNA Labor Educator Joe Twarog. In Fall 2015, it was Labor Law and Special Topics. From January to April 2016, we did Collective Bargaining, The Role of the Floor Rep. All of these were 4 evening classes. Finally, in May, we had nearly 50 members participate in the 3 classes of a new program, Retirement and Financial Planning In late September 2016 we start up again with a repeat of Labor Law for new students. Region 4 Scholarships In August, Region 4 donated $10,377 toward the $50,000 collected from all 5 Regions to fund scholarships for MNA Members and Children of Members pursuing education in nursing or a health care profession. There were 11 Region 4 applicants this year, 5 members and 6 children. Congratulations to the six who were awarded scholarships. Members Heather Crocker, $2,000 Jennifer Paolilli, $2,000 Josette Renda, $2,000 Children of Region 4 Members Arnold Analise, $1,250 Alexandra Casale, $1,250 Irina Pfeifer, $1,250. 2

4 Collective Bargaining Regional Council 4 has allocated $105,000 of our Region 4 Reserves to provide direct financial support to our 13 bargaining units. Funds can be used by local leaders for any activities that fall into one of these four broad categories: education, political organizing, member involvement, and support for collective bargaining. Bargaining units with fewer than 75 members can access up to $5,000. Units with 75 or more members can access up to $10,000. From January through June, all the contract negotiation sessions between Northeast Hospital/Lahey registered nurses and management took place at our Region 4 office in Lynnfield. Both parties found the setting very satisfactory. Local bargaining unit committees also held membership and other meetings at our office which provides a convenient and confidential space when members meet with MNA Labor Associate Directors and MNA lawyers in preparation for grievances and arbitrations. The elected leaders of our 13 bargaining units plus 4 At-Large members who make up Regional Council 4 meet monthly. They work every single day, all unpaid, to protect the rights and professional practice of colleagues as well as their patients. The meetings provide the forum to learn what is happening in each of our bargaining units, to provide mutual support, and to strategize on how best to represent our members. The #1 issue remains unsafe staffing in all units but particularly in ED s. Leadership Any Region 4 member can run for election, or be appointed to, an At-Large position on Regional Council. Currently all seats are filled but there are opportunities for Region 4 members to be elected or appointed to statewide leadership bodies including the MNA Board of Directors. If you are interested in getting involved, or just getting more information, contact Region 4 at or region4@mnarn.org. One of the most important opportunities for members to provide leadership in MNA is to participate in the decision making at the MNA Annual Meeting during Convention. To foster that, we fund up to $250 in reimbursement to Region 4 members to attend Convention. Last year, 24 members received this benefit. We are very proud of four Region 4 members who are receiving MNA Awards this year: Suzanne Daily, Elaine Cooney Labor Relations Award Margaret Jones, MNA Nursing Education Award Francine Karaska, MNA Bargaining Unit Rookie of the Year Award Kay Marshall, Elaine Cooney Labor Relations Award. We welcome our future leaders, nursing students, to Region 4: - RNs in the BSN nursing program at UMass/Lowell who come to Regional Council 4 meetings to witness the leadership of staff nurses, learn about the benefits of collective bargaining, and engage in open discussions about our shared goals. - Local leaders of the Massachusetts Student Nurses Association participate in their statewide MASNA meetings via videoconference from the Region 4 office. Legislation and Political Action It has been another busy year for political and community organizing in Region 4. Nurses from all over the Merrimack Valley and North Shore have come to support MNA legislation, take part in other unions events, and participated in community actions to advance our practice and our causes. During the Verizon workers strike, nurses from many local units joined their brothers and sisters on the picket lines in a show of solidarity and celebrated when the strike ended and a huge victory was won for working people. Nurses also took part in the recent ABC Supply strike, supporting the workers represented by the Teamsters. During our own struggles, other unions have joined us, such as during this year s successful informational picket at North Shore Medical Center and the contract campaign at Holy Family of Merrimack Valley. The latter effort has seen great support in the form of a community delegation delivering a letter signed by many community leaders to the hospital s CEO, a letter from the state legislative delegation, hundreds of petition signatures, and a Worker s Rights Board hearing organized by Jobs with Justice. Nurses 3

5 have also held seats on and been supportive of their local Central Labor Councils and these councils have done much to bolster our work as well. Legislatively, nurses from Region 4 testified on many of the MNA bills before the Massachusetts House and Senate, as well as during numerous hearings for the ICU acuity tool. Region 4 nurses have also gone to the state house to lobby their elected officials on issues ranging from Workplace Violence and Safe Staffing to Environmental Regulations and Universal Healthcare. Many nurses have also taken part in the political process on the local, state, and federal level. Earlier this year, nurses made their way to New Hampshire and Rhode Island to knock on doors during the Democratic primary for President. Last month, nurses helped reelect several of MNA s endorsed candidates for the State House and Senate so that they can continue to support our efforts to advance our legislative goals. Region 4 has been a hotbed of community and political activity this past year and with nurses strong support of the No on 2 anti-charter school ballot campaign and the dawning of a new legislative session in January, things don t appear to be slowing down any time soon. Community Outreach During the holiday season, Region 4 members hand-delivered $500 checks to each of these community organizations: Bread and Roses in Lawrence, Cape Ann Food Pantry/Open Door in Gloucester, My Brothers Table in Lynn, the Merrimack Valley Food Bank in Lowell, and The Santa Fund (Salvation Army) of the Lawrence Eagle Tribune. The work done by each of these organizations is tremendous. We urge our members to help them out in any way possible. Region 4 collects hats, scarves, mittens and gloves for school-age kids and teens. Many of these are handmade. All through the winter we deliver them to nurses in our five MNA school nurse bargaining units. Financial Operating Income and Expenses FY 2016 (July 1, 2015-June 30, 2016) There are about 4,300 Region 4 members; each pays $30/year in Regional dues. That income, about $129,000 this year, was supplemented by about $5,000 in interest and dividends on our portfolio. We kept our annual expenses within budget (about $132,000) but due to end-of-year market adjustment on stocks/bonds, we ended the year with a deficit of just over $3,000. The final audited numbers for our income and expenditures were not yet available at the time this report was submitted. Please see the Regional Councils page among the MNA Financial documents in the front of this year s MNA Annual Report. Reserve Fund Over many decades, the Region 4 membership has accumulated significant reserve funds (savings) from operating surpluses in previous decades and income from investments. As of September, the fund amounted to just over $267,000. As noted above, Regional Council is eager to distribute a significant portion of our reserves to our bargaining units to pay for local member services, benefits, activities as determined by each of our bargaining units. We are also open to the ideas of our members for the use of these funds in ways that benefit our Region and our members. Goals for Increase the active participation of Region 4 members in the work of our bargaining units, our Region and MNA, our union and professional association. Implement and evaluate the distribution of reserve funds to our collective bargaining units, Further expand Labor Education of more of our members, Sponsor a Get to know your legislators event for all Region 4 members, Conduct an on-line survey to assess the unique and common needs of each of our bargaining units and our members so that those needs can be addressed through our Region. 4

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