Iowa RNs Say: Stop Forced Overtime!
Iowa City, IA – Registered nurses (RN's) at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics are sick and tired of forced overtime. RN's are told to put in 16-20 hours extra, in every 6 week period. Many are putting in even more “voluntary” hours because of pressure from supervisors.
To top this off, the hospital administration is violating the contract by forcing RN's to stay home and be on call when they are not working at the hospital.
“The staff is emotionally and physically exhausted from the load of the overtime hours,” said Angela Wernke, an RN and worksite leader (steward) in Service Employees International Union, Local 150.
Wernke questions the quality of care that patients receive when the RN's are being overworked.
Hospital administrators recently put out an “informational memo” with the implied threat that RN's are in danger of losing their license if they refuse the mandatory overtime. The memo also said that the hospital would assign hours to nurses who did not sign up for them.
SEIU Local 150 is demanding a reduction in mandatory overtime as well as back pay for the time that members were on call at home.
Local 150 members are closely watching the arbitration that SEIU filed for to put an end to these abuses.