Local 5621 June Membership Update

We know there are continuing problems with staffing. As of the meeting last month with management, incentives were to be continued. But they are offered at the discretion of management dependent on the need of the unit. Agency nurses are also being utilized throughout the hospital system.

As always, we are reading and reviewing all staffing forms. We thank you for filling them out, as otherwise we would not know what is going on outside our own departments. Staffing forms can be filled out for any staffing issue. Some examples are no aide, no secretary, high acuity, short nursing staff, no transporters and or any issue that makes you staffed unsafely for your shift. When filling out a form, only the writer’s name should appear on the form. Do not place your coworkers’ name on the form unless they have expressed consent to do so. Also, please include a brief explanation of the problem and your last name in case we need to reach out to clarify anything.

Management was made aware staff are having issues locating and applying for jobs in Oracle. There is a new Oracle rep assigned to the hospital who will hopefully be able to make the program more user friendly. You should apply for every listed position you are interested in. For example, if there are 3 FT/day positions in a unit, then you should apply for all three even if the postings are identical because managers consider candidates for each individual posting.

Lastly, we have language in the contract under Article 47 that covers weekend work. You may have to make-up a weekend day if you callout during your required weekend shift. The make-up weekend should be mutually agreed upon by you and your manager and should be worked no later than 3 months after the callout. The make-up day is not an additional day to your normal work week, rather it’s a swap of a weekday shift for a weekend shift. There are exceptions to this if you have a documented illness defined by FMLA. Your manager also can waive this requirement.

I hope you all are having a great start to your summer. Please reach out to one of our union reps if you ever have any questions/concerns. We are here to help!

In solidarity,

Local 5621 Executive Board