STAFFING ARBRITRATIONS VICTORIES.
NICU
A few highlights from this award:
· Tim Taylor found that from January 13, 2023 through April 12, 2023 in the NICU- “there has been a persistent pattern of violations and a continuous chronic pattern of ratios being violated during the shifts”
· When RNs are “routinely and systematically responsible for additional patients above the contractual mandates, those impacted nurses are entitled to and deserving of additional compensation”
· He awarded $127,057 total for a total of 65 day and night shifts.
· Management must pay no later than the second pay period following his decision.
5C/5E-CSICU/CVICU
New York, N.Y. — Nurses from the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) who work in Mount Sinai Hospital’s cardiac surgery and cardiovascular intensive care units (ICU) won an arbitration award after tracking the staffing and patient acuity levels on their unit over the course of several months this Spring.
The arbitrator listened to testimony from critical care nurses and reviewed protest of assignment forms (POAs) and data that nurses tracked daily to determine that “there has been a ‘persistent’ pattern of staffing violations and a ‘continuous chronic pattern of ratios’ being violated on unit 5C/5E.” He awarded the nurses who work on understaffed shifts a total of $221,192 to be divided between the nurses depending on hours worked from Feb. 9, through June 23, 2023. The nurses must be paid their remedy within two pay periods.
In addition to the monetary remedy, the arbitrator issued several directives to Mount Sinai administration to comply with the collective bargaining agreement, including:
Follow a safe staffing ratio of 1:2 and 1:1 for high acuity patients.
Provide nurses with full meal and break periods and staff break nurses to cover patient assignments during break time.
Continuously post, recruit and hire more nurses to fill remaining vacancies on the unit to attain safe staffing on day and night shifts.
10 EAST
Nurses on 10E, a combined med-surg and step-down unit, won a total of $282,920 for day and night shift. The nurses impressed the arbitrator with their turnout and testimony about the negative impact understaffing has on safe patient care. Incredibly, the Mount Sinai administration tried to argue that only the staffingratio applied to this unit, not the ratio and the grid in the contract. The arbitrator ruled that the grid was applicable and that Mount Sinai had “a persistent pattern of violations and a continuous chronic pattern of ratios being violated during the shifts due to a pattern of violations of the number of nurses per unit per shift.” Way to go, Mount Sinai nurses!