Demonstration held to put pressure on Ellis Medicine administration

By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY, Staff writer
First published in print: Thursday, July 8, 2010

SCHENECTADY — Nurses from Ellis Medicine demonstrated Wednesday in front of the Nott Street hospital, saying the administration is not meeting their demands for a new contract.

For the first time, nurses from the former St. Clare’s Hospital participated in the informational picketing and are part of the bargaining unit. After the hospitals merged in 2008, nurses from the St. Clare’s campus voted to join New York State Nurses Association, the union that represents Ellis nurses.

“I’ve had enough of things changing, and through all of those changes, we had no control over any of it,” said Fred Durocher, a St. Clare’s nurse who moved to the Nott Street emergency room. “Now I’m part of a union and I have a little bit of a say.”

The main points of disagreement are wages, health care benefits and nursing ratios.

The hospital administration has proposed freezing wages in 2010 and giving 2.8 percent increases in the following three years. Senior nurses at the top of the pay scale would not receive raises, but would get lump sum bonuses.

The union said the proposed pay increases are step payments for nurses who reach higher experience levels but are not cost of living increases.

“No increases for three years is not going to attract nurses,” said Teresa Jewett, a 34-year veteran nurse at Ellis.

In comparison, Ellis nurses received 5.5 percent annual increases on average in their last contract.

Hospital leaders said Ellis nurses are among the highest paid in the region with the most senior nurses making $75,000 a year and new nurses making $50,000. The hospital also said it has no trouble filling vacancies.

In negotiations for health care, the union says hospital leaders are trying to penalize nurses who seek medical care outside the Ellis health system. For example, nurses would pay nothing for an inpatient care at Ellis Hospital, but would have a $250 copay if they went to another hospital.

We are “trying to encourage employees to stay in this community and use our services,” said Cece Lynch, vice president, chief nursing officer.

The nurses’ union wants the hospital’s 2009 staffing guidelines written into the new contract. The guidelines set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios for every unit. On average, the ratio is one nurse for every five patients. Several downstate unions have contractual ratios and it has given unions the ability to challenge staffing changes in court.

“We want to continue the quality and quantity of staffing that we’ve been doing without worrying about what is going to happen in the future,” Suzanne Dailey, a nurse and vice chair of the bargaining unit.

Hospital leaders do not support ratios in the contract.

“Staffing is more than just having black and white numbers written into a contract,” Lynch said. Staffing needs to be adjusted based on the sickness of patients, patient volume, and the skill level of the nurses, she said.

Democrat Susan Savage, the Schenectady County Legislature chairwoman, walked the picket line with the nurses. The nurses’ previous contract ended in February. The hospital extended it to June 21 but has let it expire.

Lynch said Ellis has not frozen wages, hasn’t reduced time off and hasn’t laid off workers, despite a difficult economy.

“We are very committed to patient care and to maintaining the strong workforce we’ve had for many years,” Lynch said.

Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at 454-5348 or ccrowley@timesunion.com.