Bargaining Update #1
Dear Nursing Team Members,
Today we held our first collective bargaining session with the union that represents our nurses (NNU) and UCMC.
During this initial bargaining session, we took some time to get to know each other. Our nurses shared some truly inspiring stories about their journey to UCMC, their accomplishments, and their goals for our new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Our nursing leaders also shared with the team who they are and what has led them to their role as an Associate Chief Nursing Officer (ACNO) at UCMC.
The NNU shared several proposals that addressed union dues, NNU Representatives’ access to UCMC, meeting facilities scheduling, proposals around the transfer of nurses to different units, and feedback to nurses who are not selected for internal transfers. Our team will spend time this evening, and in the coming week, reviewing these proposals to provide counterproposals to the NNU.
As Emily shared in her communication yesterday, bargaining is a process, and at times can seem slow. The proposals that were shared today are exactly what we would expect to see at this point in the process.
Andrew Carnegie said, “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward shared objectives is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” It was clear from our discussions today, that our nurses, the NNU business agents, and UCMC are working toward a common goal – a fair and equitable contract.
Jeff Murphy, DNP, RN, CEN, NEA-BC,
Vice President Comer Children’s Hospital
Associate Chief Nursing Officer