May Labor Management & Health and Safety Updates
5/9/2025
- Monte management stated that they will expand the Moses CCU (taking away 10 F6A stepdown beds) after the SICU construction. -Monte is also planning to open a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP) in Rosenthal. Management refused to provide any more details or listen to nursing input about these plans. Nurses spoke out about the loss of med surg and stepdown beds from this restructuring plan and once again demanded opening more med surg beds in Moses. We are requesting copies of the Certificate of Needs for both the CCU expansion and the CPEP and are continuing our campaign to SAVE THE BEDS at Montefiore.
- This morning Weiler ED nurses marched to management's office with a petition with over 100 signatures demanding an end to the new triage process that is unsafe and places additional burdens on RNs. ED nurses continued to speak up in Labor Management about this unsafe practice and the recent discontinuation of break relief nurses. Nurses plan to meet with ED management next week to demand an end to these unsafe practices.
- CHAM PACU nurses are advocating for 12 hour shifts. This would greatly help retention in the department. Nurses have already delivered a petition about this and will continue fighting for fair working conditions on the job.
- Klau 2 nurses spoke out about an unsafe incident involving a patient breaking glass from a locked door on the unit. Because these nurses spoke up, management is now installing plexiglass on the entire unit. Nurses also highlighted the importance of listening to nursing input in admissions decisions and preventative measures for the safety of the unit. Management agreed to review the glass in other patient care areas, especially psych holding areas, as there are likely locations where it should be changed out. PPC October 2024
Professional Practice Committee 10/24/24
Management continues to violate the contract.. As stated in Section 19.19 on page 77 of the NYSNA CBA, they have not made reasonable efforts to eliminate hallway beds, and we are already seeing an increase in their placement. It’s essential for us to come together to address this issue.
With the winter surge upon us, management has yet to provide a concrete plan for removing hallway beds. This situation poses dangers and is undignified for our patients. Please make sure to accurately document and report all hallway bed patients on your POAs every day. Additionally, if management attempts to record multiple sick calls on your POA, please ensure that YOU accurately document the actual number of sick calls in your unit.
Vacancies remain a significant issue in all emergency departments. Management has promised agency staff to help fill these gaps.
According to the NYSNA CBA pg. 134, any referral for an RN earns you a $3,500 incentive.
SIP has been extended to all EDs until November 30, 2024.
SIP in CHAM 8 and CHAM 10 is active until November 9, 2024.
NYSNA has petitioned management to provide age-appropriate oncology treatment on CHAM 9, adults should not be placed with pediatric patients.
Reconstruction update: The oncology pharmacy in the Green Glass Building will be moving to another floor as of November 4th 2024. New patient infusion space and staffing plan will be introduced afterwards.
Finally, please follow the new protocols regarding the use of alternative IV fluids.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO EARLY VOTE!
This is a monthly meeting NYSNA Executive Committee has with Montefiore Management, it’s held over Zoom every 3rd Thursday of the month.
The meeting is always open to members! Fall Reminders
The following reminders are based on laws, regulations, contract language, past practice and built upon concepts of fairness. It is also important to exercise kindness and compassion when dealing with colleagues on your unit with special needs.
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
NIGHT SHIFT: as per long standing past practice and the contractual right for OT, night shift workers who work the night the clocks go back one hour receive time and a half for the final hour of their shift (section 6.02).
ELECTION DAY
DAY SHIFT: if you are scheduled to work on election day (Nov.7, 2023), and you do not have 4 hours at the beginning or end of your shift to vote during poll hours, and you have not been able to take advantage of early voting, you can request, in writing, (must be in advance, between 2 & 10 working days prior to Election Day), up to 2 hours off, paid, to vote, at the beginning or end of your shift. This is a law, (Section 3-110 of the New York State Election Law), also codified in the contract (Section 7.04).
SICK TIME BUY BACK
At the end of October a calculation is done on your available and used sick time. If you have more than 450 hours in your sick bank, you can request payment of any hours over 450 up to 90 hours minus any hours of sick time over the previous 12 months. If you have 90 hours in your accrued bank, you can use up to 45 hours of sick time minus any hours used over the previous 12 months. You can also choose to donate such hours (or do a combination of the two) to our NYSNA sick bank for catastrophic illness and injuries. This money is administered by the NYSNA EC, not Monte management, and follows specific objective criteria. It has rescued many nurses from tragic consequences in the past so please consider this donation.
In addition, when you retire, you do not gain anything from your sick hours. However you can choose to donate 37.5 hours of your time to the NYSNA sick bank instead of leaving the money to Montefiore management. We strongly urge this donation for the above reasons.
(Sections 7.09 & 19.11)
SENIORITY LIST
A seniority list is generated in each unit in October of each year. If you believe your seniority date is wrong or the date for a nurse on your unit is wrong, you must, in writing, file a protest of the list as soon as it is posted. Seniority is important for layoff/displacement; vacation selection; and status or shift transfer in each unit (Section 4.13; also see sections 4.09, 4.10, 4.11 4.12 & 4.16))
VACATION SELECTION
In units with many nurses vacation selection is based on a formula that ensures each nurse can take their allotted vacation weeks (# of nurse x # of weeks per nurse divided by 52 and rounded up). The granting of vacation weeks must be transparent—the list can’t be hidden. This is best facilitated by posting granted time publicly, by seniority, in the unit. If you suspect that this is not being done correctly, notify the union after your initial inquiry on your unit.
You are permitted to use accrued vacation hours when plotting your vacation.
BE AWARE: If your available balance on your anniversary date is not used within 60 days after your NEXT YEAR’s anniversary date, these hours disappear from Kronos. BE SURE TO DOCUMENT ALL VACATION HOURS REQUESTS. If they are not granted in spite of your request to use these hours, replacing them in your bank is much easier. It is best to not face this situation because of Monte’s famous bureaucracy (Sections 7.05. 7.06, 7.07 & 7.08).
HOLIDAY REQUESTS
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years holidays are often the highest demand requests. Traditionally, in the in-patient units, nurses are required to work either Christmas or New Years, including working one eve and one day in combination, unless staffing allows for a better benefit (which, with 12 hour shifts is often the case). Granting of time MUST BE EQUITABLE. There is not an easy formulaic way to achieve equitability but one concept is that if your request is not granted one year, it should be granted the following year. KEEP ALL WRITTEN REQUESTS IN A PERSONAL FILE TO PROVE THIS. Thanksgiving should also be rotated in a similar manner. Night nurses must be granted the eve if that is the holiday of their choice. Premium pay is NOT granted for the eve. If you suspect consistent favoritism, please inquire on your unit and if not satisfied, contact a union rep. If two nurses face the same situation, seniority will be determinant for that one episode only (Sections 7.01, 7.02 & 7.03 and general seniority rules for “ties”).
Labor Management: August 9, 2024
Hi Nurse Warriors, today August 9, 2024 many union members met with management for our monthly labor management meeting. Below is a summary of what was covered. All members are invited to join labor management which happens every second Friday of the month. Our Agenda
8 South
Weiler Campus Emergency Department
HHA
Moses Radiology
Wow, Rover, etc. battery and technology Issues
Changes to NW 1 assignments8 South:
NYSNA Nurses Stacey E and Veronica B reported on the challenges and concerns of 8 South regarding: exorbitant floating of incumbent nurse while travel nurses with similar competencies were allowed by management to remain on their unit; pulling overtime staff and therefore leaving their unit continually short; and the use of step down and infusion medications and procedures, although management during staffing arbitration reported there were no step down patients on the unit. They reported on the exorbitant number of admissions that they can receive in one shift, the difficulties of not having the correct number of support staff secretaries, and CCT to engage and share the workload of EKGs, blood draws and fingersticks. They reported that even when they have the Department of Health agreed on number of CCTs, the CCTs are floated to other units. Jonathan, Brenda and Diane from management made remarks around the travel nurses not having the correct competences. NYSNA demanded that the travel nurses retain the competences and be floated first, for management to provide clarity on step down procedures, and for protocols and infusion medications be clarified and standardized across the organization. Management agreed and reported that they were working on training the CCT’s and that additional IV insertion skills training would be provided to new RNs
Weiler ED
NYSNA Nurse Donnet reported that Management had created a mini 2-bedded ICU for admitted patients in the Weiler ED. These patients should be in beds in our ICUs. This initiative reduces the number of ED nurses available to care for other patients and adds to further staffing violations. Management, Johnathan Green, said they would discuss with PCCs as the initiative was not meant to create such situations.
Montefiore Hutch:
Convention delegate Lisa W G from the Hutch shared very concerning information about the hostile, unprofessional work environment that their staffing team had been enduring since Christmas. They filed several complaints to the compliance board, but this resulted in an escalation of hostility from their manager. Janice Reyes from labor relations promised to conduct an investigation.
Moses Radiology:
Dan H. registered nurse from Moses radiology, reported about the proposed renovation of one of their much-needed procedural rooms. He listed several concerns that the team had identified. They were scheduled for a 2 PM meeting.
WOW, Rover, battery, and Technology Issues:
Moses convention delegate Shirley E from the float pool reported that there are gross difficulties with acquiring and maintaining the computer batteries that fuel our WOWs. Nursing Leadership reported that new batteries for the WOWs were in fact being shipped to Montefiore. A follow-up letter was sent to inquire about the delivery date, which units the batteries will go to considering that many nurses from various units across the organizations were in agreement regarding the struggles with the batteries for the WOWs.
NW1:
It was reported from staff of Northwest One that their manager was trying to push the nurses to assume the care of 1 step down patient which should be 1 to 3 step down mixed with regular one to four patients. We all know this is a very unsafe practice and a violation to the contract. Teresa, Director of nursing for critical care, reported she will look into it. NYSNA demanded that the practice stop, halt, and desist immediately irrespective of any investigation management said they would do as the CBA is clear.
HHA:
Vanessa Weldon, executive chair, reported to nursing leadership of HHA the need for weekend escorts for when HHA nurses required them. Management's excuse for not having escorts available was that the escorts were on vacation, so they would look into it. RN Welle D also reported that the business partners that prepare the HHA nurse's schedules were trying to define set days off for the nurses and requested that this practice stop. Management was not aware of the issue and said they would look into it! There was also discussion regarding how nurse visits were being bundled. Management also said they would look into it.
Health and Safety:
Once again, we had to raise the issue of not receiving the workplace violence report in a timely fashion. Labor relations admitted fault and forwarded the report in the middle of the meeting.
NYSNA discovered that more needs to be done to standardize how we keep our staff safe. For example, a Moses staff member was pepper sprayed even though we have a weapons detector. Nurses suggested additional safeguards to lessen the likelihood of pepper spray being allowed into the facility. We again desire to have alerts placed on the patient’s charts that are very challenging. There were a number of other violence instances against nurses in the workplace items that we made suggestions to for a better safer environment.
NYSNA Workplace Violence Committee:
Management agreed to our demands and the workplace violence committee will commence very soon.
ID scanning
Management is looking to establish this very soon. They will pilot this at the 210 entrances at the Moses campus where staff will have to scan their IDs. We have been assured that this protocol will in no way be used for disciplinary purposes. It’s a way for the organization to validate the active from inactive staff.Labor Management: March 8, 2024
First face-to-face labor management meeting since the pandemic in 2020.Health Benefits Update
All NYSNA members should be aware that Empire Blue Cross merged with Anthem. We should’ve received new medical cards. After discussion in the January Labor management meeting, we were assured that there were no changes to our health benefits. However, there have been numerous reports of individuals who’ve experienced changes to the benefits. NYSNA is in the process of securing meeting dates with the health benefits team to review and examine how our health benefits are being managed.
If you have any issues that need to be brought forward please contact your union representatives, so that we can understand what your issue is and forward those issues to management prior to the meeting. We also ask that once the meeting date is secured, and you are notified, that you join us over zoom to review and understand our health benefits.
Reimbursement Contact Information
So many nurses are taking advantage of our hard won Tuition Reimbursement CE, continuing Ed, as well as completing whatever is necessary to work. Much of this work is done outside of Montefiore Medical Center with a cost. Our contract allows for these costs to be reimbursed, however, navigating repayment has proven to be difficult. We have been successful in securing the names and contact information of Departments associated with repayment. We also asked for the reimbursement document to be updated to reflect the new mileage rates.
Facility Update: Pediatric Behavioral Health
Management updated the union on the Waters Place Pediatric Behavioral Health Facility. This facility is pending OHS and DOH approval, expected sometime in April 2024 and a proposed opening date in the first quarter of 2025. NYSNA requested information regarding the staffing of this facility. Management expects they will need nurses, nurse practitioners, PCCs and specialized behavioral life tech. Stay tuned, more to come.
NYSNA members are experiencing increased violence in the workplace.
Your union on your behalf has requested the resurrection of the violence in the workplace committee it will be reconvened with a tentative date of April 12, 12 PM to 1 PM monthly.
Do not hesitate to contact your executive committee or NYSNA reps if you experience any type of violent exchange threat or abuse. We must demand a safe work environment for all.
NA Break Coverage
We want to know if management is directing you to cover NAs for breaks instead of ensuring adequate staff coverage. This cannot become our job. It is dangerous for patients when nurses are covering EOs/COs as their other patients are not being care for.
Parking
The parking and access situation at the Moses campus is stressful, 🧟♂️🧟♀️ horrendous, and horrific. As a result, and not surprisingly, some of the Moses campus nurses are late to work, resulting in disciplinary action from management who don’t know how to take mitigation into account. Moses staff - labor relations should be sending out emails
inviting nurses to park at the botanical gardens, to be shuttled to Moses. If there’s demand, we can expect it will be implemented, please respond to the email.
Health and Safety
Moses SICU nurses reported again this month on safety issues on their unit.
Our NYSNA health and safety officer Lisa Baum was present to assist in presenting. Safety Officer Baum had conducted a safety walkthrough and was present to review her findings. Maria Arias, Moses AVP of nursing, assured the nurses of the Moses SICU that all the safety issues identified would be reported to the necessary departments and remedied. Fingers crossed 🤞🏽 for a safer work environment
Violence Reports
Labor relations provides NYSNA with monthly violence reports. Of late, NYSNA has had to question the validity and accuracy of the violence reports. The increase in Dr. Strong’s and mental illness, have created many concerning incidents of violence and near misses in the workplace that have not been captured on the reports until we remind security🙄.
NYSNA Questioned Moses Security Leaders (Weiler security leader was absent) What prompts a submission onto the violence report, the protocol was explained to us but is clearly not being followed.
NYSNA also reported out and questioned Security about the protocol for our law enforcement offices carrying their weapons onto our nursing units. Apparently retired and ACTIVE DUTY OFFICERS may carry a CONCEALED WEAPON. Its a police officer protocol. Our nurses at the Moses campus reported a gun sitting on the inpatient side table 😲🤦🏼in broad daylight. Any such incidents must and should be reported not only to Security but to Nursing leadership police officers guns MUST BE CONCEALED per the Law enforcement officers safety act.
NYSNA demanded from Labor relations and nursing leadership, that they place alerts on patients charts if they have a history of challenging, behavioral issues. Security and nursing leadership get alerts but frontline staff members do not. We are most at risk from attacks and should be prepared. We heard from Lisa Lefalce they are reviewing a protocol/mechanism to implement such a mechanism, NYSNA demanded something sooner rather than later.
Labor Management: December 8, 2023
Items discussed in today’s Labor Management and Health & Safety meeting.
Lead CRNA protested medical leadership’s decision not to grant temporary change to parttime status requested by CRNA to accommodate unforeseen changes in her family situation. Labor Relations agreed to meet to investigate.
Results Pending space at Weiler campus.
Patients line the ED corridors while waiting to be admitted. The results pending space was identified as a space to alleviate hallway patients around the ED. NYSNA pushed for our patients and identified the “results pending area.” NOW management is reducing the availability of this space. We don’t agree with management’s use of the space and will be following up with management.
Sick Bank Buy Back Changes
We will be following up with management to review changes.
So everyone is aware personal time CAN BE LOST if not taken in time (please review CBA section 7.04). Holiday Entitlement …. Section 7.02 and 7.03 IS NOT LOST.
We will be meeting with management to evaluate issues preventing management from granting this time to our members. Please forward issues you’ve experienced getting personal time or holiday time off. Any problems with vacation grids should be escalated to unit manager and union.
NEW TREATMENTS
NYSNA is pushing management to ensure policies are accurate and address patient safety when new treatments are established, e.g. Monoclonal treatments, TNK administration, off- unit Chemo administration.
DISPLACEMENT
NYSNA has raised disapproval of how management is interpreting our long-standing displacement protocols. Displacement is very different from a transfer. NYSNA members must hold strong to the established principles of displacement.
Home Health Agency
HHA nurses raised concerns of safety issues and the need for additional escort services when requests are made. Only two (2) escorts are available in this department despite nurses in HHA traveling to the homes in unsafe areas in the Bronx and lower Westchester.
Health and Safety
K2 nurses raised concerns of safety including the need for and provision of security intervention for challenging patients. Security officer Mike Ruzzi assured NYSNA that Panic buttons were checked biweekly. Please try to ensure that panic buttons on your unit are in working order. We are caring for more and more mentally challenging patients and their families. Our safety depends on being able to utilize all safety resources.
Josh Daniels from VALUE ANALYSIS reported a new module available for our attention regarding updated med lists requiring specific safety precautions during preparation and administration. These modules have been posted in “talent management “.