Local 5091 Leaders at the AFT Convention

Carol Stern and Jeff Peck with newly elected AFT President, Randi Weingarten

Jeff Peck and Pat Ballard with Senator Frank Lautenberg

 

Ten Years In—Half the Staff

This year's version of senior management is telling us that they want to do away with the agencies. I truly believe that the people sitting at the table with us are as sincere as can be. I also believe that they have no control aver the situation they are told to be in charge of. It actually becomes rather sad to see well intentioned professionals putting spins on staffing cutbacks, lack of a patient acuity system (at this point I could fill the remainder of the newsletter with a litany of fixable wrongs that never get fixed. You could too.)

The managers in the hospital stated on 4/2/8 that they want to hear from any of our per diems who would like to work a regular shift. There are very few jobs posted. There are agency MHAs and agency LPNs where they never were before (many are replacing the agency RNs.). We as a Union are not supposed to be concerned because MHAs and LPNs are not in our bargaining unit.

This illuminates the major philosophical difference between us and management. We went to school and into our chosen professions to do something we believed was good. We want to make enough money to contribute to our families, take care of our loved ones, and every now and then get that little kick you feel when you know you made a positive difference in someone's life. Our Board of Managers came from Colorado and recently from bankrupt Bayonne Hospital for the money.

As the unkempt lawyer for the Bergen County Improvement Authority, Dennis Oury has said in the past, "What's wrong with somebody making a little money?" The problems we have are when their profit gets in the way of our patient care. I have never seen one of our Health Professionals leave the facility teary-eyed over their day's wage. We know we're worth more but we come to work. I am sick and tired of seeing overwhelmed well intentioned professionals gasping for breath as they punch out because they could not give the care they were trained to give because they were not provided the tools to do their jobs;  co-workers.

Please keep up your good work. Your heart is in the right place. I remain optimistic.

In Unity,

Jeffrey Peck RN