Bonner General nurses making history

History was made in the state of Idaho on May 14, 2008.

An overwhelming majority of 93 percent of those nurses that exercised the right to vote at Bonner General Hospital, approved and ratified a two-year, union-contract that took nearly 20 months of negotiations with management.

Community support played an extremely vital role, what with many lawn signs visibly displayed around Sandpoint, and the strong support letters sent to the BGH Board, which finally propelled the negotiations to a conclusion.

Why historic? Back in 1973, a number of faculty members on the campus of the University of Idaho formed a local chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, where I was inadvertently the cause célèbre. The next year, a state organization, the Idaho Federation of Teachers, was then formed. More recently, as far as I am aware, the Service Employees International Union has been active in southern Idaho. So, the formation of local union chapters in the so-called, “Right-to-Work” State of Idaho is a rare and historic event. This seems even more so in northern Idaho.

What does the contract provide for the nurses? The collective bargaining agreement is important since it recognizes the interests of the nurses, which includes not only wage matters, incentive bonuses, and other economic benefits, but significantly addresses working conditions, such as hours of work, rest periods, evaluations, grievance procedures, and institutes an enlightened disciplinary system.

Very importantly, a joint labor-management committee has been created which gives the nurses a collaborative process to address nursing- and patient-care concerns. This contract is a beginning, but it should greatly improve the morale at the hospital, which is a key to the success of any institution.

What are the broader implications of this historic event? Most people, through no fault of their own, have to work for a living. However, the present national atmosphere of laissez faire economics for the last three decades have left workers far behind. We've had these conditions in this country before, during the Gilded Age in the 1890's, which eventually led to the economic disasters in the 1930's. We do not need to relearn those lessons again. Historically, it was only when working people unified and pressed their issues through unions that their concerns were taken seriously by those in power.

In addition, political support for unions helped produce a prosperous middle-class, with better opportunities accruing to themselves and their children. We need a re-empowerment of our working people, and the BGH nurses have provided us with a brave and courageous example. In their own way, the nurses have also reminded us what a re-empowerment of democracy looks like.

PHILIP A. DEUTCHMAN

Sandpoint