Deep Dives into the New TUHNA and

At the core of TUHNA’s and TAP’s contract campaigns, which spanned more than three months and involved a strike authorization vote, an informational picket attended by then U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman and then candidate for PA Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis in addition to a host of local elected officials, and an in-your-face, highly covered-by-the-press rally at the Pennsylvania Convention Center during the ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center) National Magnet Conference in October, were critical quality of care issues like safe staffing, recruitment and retention of caregivers, workplace violence prevention, and resources and protections for caregivers.

TUHNA Won Game-Changing Staffing Language in the Contract

TUHNA won enforceable staffing grids in their last contract. But those grids were grids management came up with, they were only referenced in the contract, not included in it, and management had the ability to change them. This time, we actually negotiated over the grids ourselves and made significant improvements to them. And management can’t change them.

The new staffing guidelines must be posted on all units, and the hospital agrees to supplement and/or hire nursing staff in all units and for all shifts to meet the unit’s staffing guidelines, which take into account acuity, projected admissions over the course of a shift, and adequate coverage for breaks and lunch. If the hospital falls below the census-based guidelines, it will immediately post the additional shift/s needed to meet the posted guideline at the highest level of incentive. A Staffing and Scheduling