SLU Hospital RNs win first contract
St. Louis – Registered nurses at St. Louis University Hospital (SLUH) have won their first ever collective bargaining agreement with a new three-year contract that provides for significant improvements in patient care protections, compensation and job protections.
“Nurses are thrilled to have a contract that improves our ability to advocate for our patients and recruit and retain quality nurses,” said Carmen Moorehead, an RN at SLUH for 38 years and a member of the negotiating team. “We have laid the foundation for a better future.”The contract is believed to be the first in the St. Louis area since nurses at St. John’s Mercy organized early in the last decade and negotiated a contract. But they voted to decertify in 2007 rather than approve a second contract.
One key element of the SLUH contract is a ban on mandatory overtime.
“We don’t want nurses forced into overtime because that’s when mistakes get made and the patients are the ones that suffer when that happens,” said Tim Kamp, an RN in the hospital’s various intensive care units.
http://labortribune.com/slu-hospital-rns-win-first-contract/
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of care for their patients. I hope it spreads. 
