Contract Talks Heat Up as Nurses Fight for Retiree Healthcare and Voice in Patient Care

CHICO—Enloe Medical Center registered nurses will be conducting an informational picket in front of the facility, Friday, May 4, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, (CNA/NNU), announced today.
 
The collective bargaining agreement for the 700 RNs represented by CNA/NNU expired on April 20. The major unresolved issues include: a proposal to have the hospital pay a small share of the nurses’ healthcare when they retire, as is standard in hospitals throughout Northern California; the right for nurses to have a say in decisions affecting their patients, and a cost-of-living wage increase to keep up with inflation.
 
What:     Enloe RN Informational Picketing and Rally
When:    Friday May 4, 2012, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Rally at 5:30 pm
Where:   Enloe Medical Center
             1531 Esplanade Chico, CA 95926
 
“We will soon be working in an impressive new building,” said David Welch, RN a cardiac rehabilitation nurse. But a building isn't a hospital. People come to the hospital for the nursing care, not the decor. We hear nice things from our management about how much they value us. Words come easily, but deeds count for a lot more. We need a contract that shows real respect for what we contribute.”

“We recently received a letter from our director of nursing expressing her appreciation for all that we do,” said Elijah Dixon, an RN who works at the facility. “I find it hard to reconcile the sentiment expressed in the letter with management’s proposals— curtailing our ability to have input into conditions that affect our patients, and the unwillingness to help provide RNs who have dedicated their careers to caring for our community with healthcare when they retire. Their statement about this was ‘We're not interested in spending money on anyone who no longer works for us.’  I wonder how they would treat us if they didn't appreciate us.”

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