Grievances and Arbitrations

• Over the next few weeks the Union is making a concerted effort to collect understaffing data on Med/Surg floors. This is to ensure that all affected units are included in a hospital wide class action grievance. Please document ratio violations on the NYPNU staffing documentation form and fax or deliver it to the NYPNU office. Forms can be downloaded from the NYPNU web site at http://www.nypnu.org/
  rights_forms.html. To save time fill out one form for the entire unit; write down the total number of RNs and the number of patients for that shift. If you fax it, retain the original and call the Union office to verify that the fax was received. Please do this every time the nurse/patient ratio is violated. In order for the grievance to have maximal impact, the documentation must be sufficient to demonstrate that there is a systemic problem.
• A class action grievance on behalf of CCU RNs who were required to float outside of their division to ICU was heard on March 19th.

Representation Petitions

The Union filed representation petitions with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for Cardiovascular Nurse Practitioners (CNPs) and non-RN Case Managers. Management consented to an election for the CNPs, which will be held on April 5th. The administration continues to fight our efforts to bring the two non-RN Case Managers into the same bargaining unit as the other Case Managers. There is no dispute as to the facts; both parties agree that the non-RN Case Managers do exactly the same work as the RN Case Managers and are interchangeable. The NLRB Regional Director will issue a decision on whether to allow the non-RN Case Managers to vote on joining the existing bargaining unit.

Deadlines for Submitting Claims

All unclaimed Transit & Parking deductions from 2006 will be rolled over into Plan Year 2007 on March 31, 2007. As you are aware, effective 1/1/2007 the Hospital moved to a new plan administrator, Benefit Analysis Inc. (BAI). All 2006 unclaimed balances have been transferred to BAI. The BAI claims forms are available at www.benefitenroll.com or at the LHH and MEETH HR departments. If you have a Health Care FSA or Dependent Care FSA, claim forms for costs incurred in plan year 2006 must be submitted by March 31, 2007. Any 2006 FSA money that remains unclaimed after March 31, 2007 will be forfeited.

Application Process for PDDs

The fund for Professional Development Days (PDDs) remains drastically underutilized. We strongly urge members to take advantage of this union-negotiated benefit. Additional information and the application form are available on the web site at www.benefitenroll.com.

Long Term Care Insurance

Since the hospital administration no longer offers employees the opportunity to purchase optional long term care insurance, some NYPNU members have expressed interest in forming a group plan through the Union. Long term care refers to personal care and related services provided on an extended basis to people who need help with activities of daily living or who need supervision due to severe cognitive impairment. Such care may be provided at home, in the community, in an assisted care facility, or in a nursing home. Premiums are deductible on your federal tax return, and NY State provides a 20% tax credit. If you are interested in attending a meeting to learn more, please contact the NYPNU office at (212) 988-5565.