|
004/07/04 update . . .
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:
BAN MANDATORY OVERTIME
Facts:
Health care professionals across the nation are reporting a dramatic increase in the use of mandatory overtime as a staffing tool. Staffing
health care facilities by forced overtime is having a negative impact on patient care, causes an increase in the chances for medical errors, and drives health care employees from their profession.
Mandatory overtime contributes to poor quality patient care because fatigue which results from excessive overtime increases the likelihood of
errors. According to a study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, when employees plan to work additional shifts on a volunteer basis, they are more likely to get plenty of rest
immediately prior to working the extended shift. However, when overtime is mandated without notice to employees they suffer high levels of fatigue and increased errors.
Truck drivers, airline pilots and flight attendants all have restrictions on the number of hours they may work. Health care professionals in
hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities make crucial life and death decisions. It is time that health care workers in Pennsylvania obtain the same protection for themselves and their
patients.
Ban Mandatory Overtime
Now is the time for all health care professionals to act on legislation!
- We urge you to sponsor and support HB 1400 or SB 722. Available for your review at http://www.legis.state.pa.us. Search the bill by number and choose "history".
- Encourage House Labor Relations Committee Chairperson, Bob Allen to move HB 1400 for a vote.
- Encourage Senate Judiciary Committee Chairperson, Stuart Greenleaf to schedule a hearing on SB 722.
- Contact your state legislators and ask them to support HB 1400 and SB 722. Addresses of your state legislators are available at http://www.legis.state.pa.us.
- Join with OPEIU HEALTHCARE, Local 112 and other unions and recommend that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania improve the delivery of health care services to
patients and improve working conditions for ALL health care employees by limiting mandatory overtime.
- We encourage you to write a letter to your state representative using the informational fact sheet included in this mailing. Explain why you
oppose mandatory overtime and why you support HB 1400. Give examples of how mandatory overtime affects you, your patients and your family. Be brief and to the point. Thank your representative
for supporting the bill if they are a co-sponsor. If they are not, ask them to become one. (See list.) Ask your representative to encourage Representative Bob Allen, the Chairperson of the Labor
Relation's Committee, to move the bill for vote on the House floor. Please include your name and address and request that they contact you with their position.
|
We need to generate hundreds of letters to our representatives. Encourage friends and families to
write. We urge you to write your letter using the fact sheet and then give it to your OPEIU HEALTHCARE labor representative or mail it yourself. But, PLEASE
, mail/fax a copy to OPEIU HEALTHCARE.
|
|
|
For more information on what you can do in our struggle to enact legislation that would ban
mandatory overtime for healthcare workers, please contact us at
717-635-2570 or click here
for a mail/fax coupon to indicate your ability to participate in this important effort.
~~~~~~
06/13/03 update . . .
Legislative Update H.R. 1119 Family Time Flexibility Act
On June 5, 2003, the House leadership withdrew this bill scheduled for a floor vote that would have allowed
businesses to offer compensatory time instead of overtime to an estimated 80 million workers. Labor groups
lobbied against the passage, saying it would take billions of dollars in overtime pay out of employees' pockets
and allow companies to dictate how the workers are paid and when they may take time off. Thank you for calling your Senators and Representative to oppose this bill.
~~~~~~
06/13/03 update . . .
Call to Action
Nurse Education Act
Congress is now in the process of determining funding levels for the Nurse Education Act, (Title VII of the
Public Health Service Act). The money would go to support numerous programs including the Nurse Reinvestment Act that was passed last year as a response to the nursing shortage.
The Nurse Reinvestment Act would create numerous scholarships and other programs to recruit new nurses and nurse educators. Since the Act has been under funded from its enactment, the passage has had little
impact on improving the nursing shortage.
PNA/OPEIU encourages you to contact your Congressional representative and asked them to support
adequate funding ( a minimum of $175 million in FY 2004) for the Nursing Education Act.
The phone number for the Congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121.
~~~~~
Legislation for Healthcare Professionals
STATE LEGISLATORS ARE PLANNING YOUR FUTURE!
 There are Bills in Legislation (HB 1959, HB2742, SB306, SB1102, SB1494) that deal with issues of safe staffing, the Quality of Care Act, and the minimum standard for nurse-to-patient ratios. The time is NOW
to act on these Bills. The State Legislature will be back in session starting September, 2002! Bills similar to these have already
passed in other states, such as: California and New Jersey. Now is the time for Pennsylvania Nurses to speak up and ensure that these Bills become Laws.
An open meeting will be held in your local area to discuss these issues and the
Pennsylvania Nurses Association's role as an advocate of healthcare professionals.
To show your support, please complete the Bill Support Form below. With this information, PNA will hand deliver your Support Form to State Legislators and you will be notified of the time & place of the next meeting.
For more information contact OPEIU HEALTHCARE Pennsylania at 717-635-2570.
|
