MADISON, Wis. – UnityPoint Health-Meriter nurses are pushing for changes in their contracts, saying if push comes to shove, they’ll give a 10-day notice for a strike.
SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, the union representing the Meriter nurses, said the nurses voted nearly unanimously to authorize the issuing of a strike notice.
“It’s not something we want to do or take lightly, but it is something that’s frankly an option if we absolutely have to,” said Joe Maginn, a registered nurse in the ER who’s worked at Meriter Hospital for 21 years.
“We have not felt we’ve been treated like heroes throughout the year,” RN Suzi Kossel said.
After a year full of change, they and other nurses are asking for some change of their own.
“Nurses have never seen sicker patients in their entire lifetime,” Kossel. “We’ve never had PPE shortages that we’ve had throughout the pandemic.”
“This has been one heck of a year. We’ve earned a decent raise and that’s what we’re asking for,” Maginn said. “We need sick time. We need to be able to take care of ourselves. We need to be able to take care of families. Another thing we’re working on is incentive pay. When there are extra shifts and we’re asked to come in on our days off, rearrange our schedules and our obligations, we’re asking for that fair compensation.”
Demands also include protections against the current pandemic and any future public health emergencies, according to a release.
“I started out as a nursing assistant at Meriter Hospital in 1988 and have spent my entire career here, because I love…
Posted by SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin on Wednesday, February 3, 2021
UnityPoint Health-Meriter said they hope they can work collaboratively with the union.
“We recognize the challenges the pandemic has caused professionally, personally, and emotionally for all our team members, including our dedicated nurses,” a statement said.
A UnityPoint Health – Meriter spokesperson said that they believe their most recent proposal to SEIU is strong and fair, already having reached agreement on nearly 30 issues, and they’re surprised nurses voted to authorize a 10-day notice strike.
“The bargaining process is not without challenges, but we have always worked collaboratively to reach solutions without a disruption to patient care,” the statement said.
Nurses said the disruption brought by the pandemic has uncovered broad issues for nurses throughout the state.
“We are not the only nurses in town and we’re not the only nurses in the state,” Maginn said. “There are a lot of issues that have been raised with this pandemic that I think a lot of people need to know what’s going on.”
Bargaining starts up again Wednesday with the help of a federal mediator.
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