International Operating Engineer - Spring 2016

Healthcare
IUOE Nurses Keep Up the Fight for Patient Rights
and Worker Rights
IN APRIL, more than 200 JNESO District Council 1
health care workers gathered for their biennial convention
in Atlantic City. Members attended seminars on emerging
issues in health care, addressed union matters, and earned
the continuing education units (CEUs) required to keep their
licenses current.
“Every other year, JNESO membership gathers for
our Convention and it demonstrates the strength and
unity of our organization,” said Elfrieda Johnson, Board
President of JNESO District Council 1. “Our successes at the
bargaining table and in the legislative arena are rooted in the
participation and active engagement of our members, and I
am thrilled with the record turnout at this year’s Convention.”
Throughout the four day convention, members discussed
various issues at length. Three priority areas that were
addressed are often inter-related—the need to codify safe
nurse-to-patient staffing ratios; addressing violence in
the workplace; and supporting the expansion of collective
bargaining rights for healthcare workers.
Safe Nurse-to-Patient Staffing Ratios
Representing more than 5,000 health care workers in New
Jersey and Pennsylvania, JNESO has long advocated for safe
nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in hospitals and ambulatory
care centers throughout both states.
In December 2015, nurses and patient advocates took a
step toward legislative victory when safe staffing legislation
was posted for a vote before the New Jersey Assembly Health
Committee. After more than twenty years, this bill was finally
voted upon by a legislative committee, and JNESO nurses
were there to share their first-hand experiences and be a
strong voice for safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.
While this was indeed an historic step forward, the fight
for full passage of safe staffing ratios in both state capitals
continues.
Violence in the Workplace
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) reports that over 2 million American workers are
victims of workplace violence each year. The health care
industry leads all other sectors in the incidence of nonfatal
workplace assaults; particularly in emergency departments
[above] JNESO Board members are sworn in at
convention. L to R: Board President, Elfrieda Johnson,
Board members Valerie-Clary Muronda and Regina
DiSalvio.
and in psychiatric settings. Nurses serve on the frontlines
of health care delivery, and are often the targets of violent
encounters - both verbal and physical. Workplace violence
continues to be a serious occupational risk that requires
targeted responses from employers, law enforcement, the
community, and state legislators.
Collective Bargaining for Health Care Workers
Patients and their families expect nurses and other health
care workers to fight for them at the bedside, even when it
conflicts with the profit motive of hospital administrators,
insurance companies, and others in the health care industry
who put the bottom line above patient interest and safety.
When unionized nurses are fighting for their patients, the
union is fighting for our nurses.
Charles Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey State
AFL-CIO, which represents one million working men and
women and their families, addressed the convention. “Nurses
advocating for patients and safety are doing so because they
have protection from retaliation as unionized nurses. They
are asking for standards on behalf of every patient in New
Jersey, and every nurse and health care worker who cannot
speak up. Their voices need to be heard!”
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
SPRING 2016 11