The Montana Pulse - August 2019

August, September, October 2019 Montana Nurses Association Pulse Page 3
Labor Reports and News
Use your VOICE! Take your Local
Pre-Bargaining Survey!
BUILD SOMETHING
POWERFUL TODAY
As contract negotiations
occur throughout the year,
Local unit bargaining teams
and MNA Labor staff begin
preparations for negotiations.
One of our favorite tools is
a Pre-Bargaining Survey
which allows EVERY nurse
to provide valuable input
into the direction of your
bargaining teams. They
provide information by
departments, on important
economic items, staffing,
general working conditions,
and more! The information gathered is used to assist
and direct your bargaining team while in negotiations.
How do we create the survey? A Pre-Bargaining
survey is created out of pre-bargaining discussions
with a local unit. As your labor representative begins
bargaining discussions, they listen for the issues the
nurses raise and create survey questions that allow
us to gather more detailed information on how the
majority of the local feels is the best direction to take
at negotiations. Additionally, we review the contract
and create questions that give the nurses the ability to
rate what is most important and always offer an area
that allows for open comments. The most important
Camping. Road trips. Days
at the lake. It is a beautiful
time of year in Montana and
most people want to spend
every second enjoying it. I
am so thankful to live in this
amazing state, but the beauty
and lure of the mountains can
make it difficult to engage our
members during this season.
I have complied a few
of my thoughts on how to
continue to engage your
members during this busy
season.
Robin Haux, BS
Labor Program
Director
part of creating a survey is input from the
nurses. We encourage every nurse to participate in
the creation, drafting, and participation of the survey.
Additionally, peer-to-peer discussions are the best way
to encourage your co-workers to participate.
Why is a pre-bargaining survey important?
There are many benefits to a pre-bargaining survey.
First, as mentioned above, it allows for your bargaining
teams and labor staff to gather a more complete
picture of the direction the local unit wants to take
at their negotiations and again, allow every nurse
the opportunity to provide input. Any opportunity
your labor representatives and negotiating team
can speak phrases such as: “all the nurses feel…”
or “90% percent of the nurses want …” it helps your
team make a better argument at the table. We cannot
underscore the importance of each nurse taking a
few minutes to participate in their survey. A low survey
participation rate reduces the effectiveness of the
survey at the table.
When your local unit has upcoming negotiations,
remember the importance of the Pre-Bargaining
Survey! Ask your labor representative to help your
local develop the survey and encourage all the nurses
to participate! Participation is crucial towards the
effectiveness!
Isn’t summer just the best??
1. Organize around major issues: Don’t just have
a meeting to have a meeting. Utilize everyone’s
time wisely by having a topic, issue, or plan to
base your meeting on. Develop an agenda to
keep the meeting on track. Make sure you are
asking your members to show up for important
meetings, not meeting just for the heck of it.
2. Meet them where they are: 10 minute meetings
allow for quick updates before and after shifts.
If your goal is to educate and update your
members on a topic, the 10 minute meeting is
golden. Reserve a meeting space in your facility
(if possible), and hold your meetings before and
after shift change or during breaks. Develop
a short, focused agenda and stick to your
timeframe. This is a great way to get information
out there and log some face time with your
members.
3. Make it accessible: Utilizing social media, not
only to publicize your meetings but also to post
Director of Nursing
Leslie Shepherd,
BSN, RN, Labor
Representative
41 bed long term care facility
Graduate from an accredited nursing school and 3 to 5
years progressive experience in nursing. Must hold a
valid Montana license as a Registered Nurse
Application can be found at www.prco.mt.gov
or mailed to PO Box 200, Broadus, MT 59317
For more info call 406-436-2657
EOE
updates and inform your members is a fast
and effective way to broadcast information.
Facebook live is a great tool to utilize video
updates on the happenings in your local or
even hold digital 10 minute meetings. It allows
for your union members to join meetings from
anywhere and watch recordings anytime.
4. Fun Family Events: Having local celebrations or
meetings that welcome kids and families to join
will make it easier for many members to attend.
Extra Credit if you hold your meetings at a local
park or lake to make it a true summer event! I
think pot-luck barbeques are a fantastic, cost
effective way to bring your union members
together for a fun afternoon or evening.
5. Respect their time: If you have difficulty rallying
the troops during this season, don’t lose heart.
We all need time away, time with our families,
and time to ourselves. Time away can be
rejuvenating and help to fire your members
up for future meetings, collective actions, and
working in solidarity to improve your working
conditions. Encourage your members to take
the time that they need, so they can come back
stronger and ready for whatever comes next.
So with that, I encourage you to plan wisely. Have a
fantastic summer and stay safe out there!
RNs & LPNs
FT/PT/PRN – All shifts available
Sign On Bonus Available!
Big Sandy Medical Center, Inc
Critical Access Hospital, Longterm
Care Facility and Rural Health Clinic.
166 Montana Ave. East | Big Sandy, MT 59520
(406) 378-2188 | www.bsmc.org
The strength that nurses
build to use their collective
voice to improve wages,
working conditions, and
patient care comes from
spending time together.
Time spent getting to know
one another and form
group opinions and goals
is essential to building
a powerful voice and an
effective union.
How Do You Engage in
the Conversation?
Sandi Luckey
Labor
Representative
Union Meetings – Most MNA union officers/
Staff RNs meet monthly. Some meet quarterly.
Attending union meetings is the best way to
interact. You can join the discussion taking place,
bring a newly recognized issue to everyone’s
attention, or get the latest updates on what the
union is working on or has planned for the future.
Professional Conference Committee/Labor
Management Committee (PCC /LMC) are
monthly meetings made up of half union nurses
and half management/administration. PCC works
on problem-solving and collaborative projects
and can be an exciting place to move new ideas
into new practices. Union contracts establish a
specific number of voting members but guests are
usually welcome to sit in and watch it happen. With
advance notice, guests can often participate in
the conversation as well, and if there’s a vacancy
in voting members you may be able to become an
assigned member.
Social Media Pages and Groups – Many of
the MNA Local Units have social media sites where
members can engage in discussions, share news,
and coordinate meetings and other activities. On
the state level, MNA also has a Facebook page and
interacts with members on posts and through their
messaging service. It’s where people engage these
days, and your nurse union is no different.
Other means of engaging include emails and
group emails, text messaging and group texting,
publications like The Pulse, events like our annual
Convention, and so much more. Our power is in
our collective strength to move issues, to face
challenges, and to make the world a better place
for Registered Nurses, the families they love and
support, and the patients for which they care.
If you’re not a part of the conversations taking place,
your views are missing from our goals. I encourage
you to look for the MNA communication path you will
choose to build something powerful today!
We are looking for
passionate and
caring nurses to
join our team.
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Full Time or Part Time
Competitive salary, great benefit package,
student loan repayment and relocation expenses available.
Please contact the HR department at (406) 228.3662 for more information.
http://www.fmdh.org
FMDH is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer