MNA Per Diems Proposal
Per diem nurses are an important component of hospital staffing and our bargaining unit. Per diems supplement RN staffing, allowing the hospital to add staff during times of high census, as well as providing coverage for colleagues seeking time off. Many of our nurses need this level of flexibility and this different type of commitment to fit their personal lives. We are seeking to preserve this work option while addressing the hospital’s overreliance on per diems. Nearly 30% of nurses at St. Luke’s are per diem nurses, far exceeding the level of per diem use at other MNA hospitals. Currently, there are no checks and balances on the number and utilization of per diems and their level of status at St. Luke’s. We presented discussion topics raising our concerns about the impact of the lack of guardrails around the use of per diems on nurses and staffing. Nurses have told us management is only posting Level II per diem positions that require the most commitment of hours. Based on nurses’ feedback, we are seeking to improve our per diem contract language, including:- Eliminate Level II per diem status going forward.
- Grandfather current level II per diem nurses.
- Give current Level II per diem nurses the option to drop to Level I within 30 days of ratification.
- Increase the per diem differential.