On Tuesday 11/18/25 our nurses crashed the Board of Directors meeting to deliver the message that nurses need to be heard on their units!

Over 35 nurses, plus spouses and children, poured into the meeting, which was standing room only. We delivered heart-felt speeches, provided emails, statements, and communications to the Board, and delivered a strong message that shared governance is not optional in a facility seeking Magnet Status.

The primary issues on the table were:

Vacation scheduling in FMC

FMC Management has unilaterally made the decision and altered the vacation policy to prevent any nurse from having approved vacation if it is submitted after Aug 1 (for winter holidays) or Feb 1 (for summer holidays). This is a change in current practice and forces us to know what our schedules look like months in advance, which is impossible with a self-scheduling model. The vacations are being denied even when there are CBA approved vacation spots still available for those days.

Additionally, FMC management has implemented a second policy where we must submit vacation requests before the final schedule is released. Most nurses in FMC do not know their schedule before it is released, and therefore do not know what days we will need to request off. The new policy also states that if we request vacation after the final schedule, we have to find their own coverage, a tactic to discourage us from requesting vacation time.

In a recent staffing meeting, management bragged about fixing staffing in FMC. We disagree that preventing staff from using the vacation time that they have earned is fixing the staffing problems. It will ultimately result in more sick calls, burnout, dissatisfaction, and nurses leaving the unit.

Restructure of ED

ED Management recently notified the unit of a pending restructure/ rebid. The notification included 3 possible matrixes, and we were told to choose one. We were given a very short timeline and told that the rebid would occur on 11/21/25.

We pushed back, stating that the provided schedules were tone deaf to the needs or the unit and the timeline was insensitive to the personal lives of those of us who were committed to the unit and hospital. We took it upon ourselves to survey the unit, review the needs of our nurses, and create a matrix that the nurses believed in and supported.

We were met with silence from management.

We then took action and delivered our concerns to the Board.

UPDATE

Following the Board Meeting, management agreed to meet with ED nurses and WSNA Rep, Brenda Balogh on 11/20/25. The nurses spent 90 minutes expressing their concerns, providing data, explaining the needs of the unit, and presenting the reasons for the matrix they had created.

Management listened to the concerns and agreed to postpone the roll-out of this restructure. Although the date has not been set, the talks included pushing the roll-out date for possibly April of 2026. We are waiting to see what the final matrix looks like after the nurses presented the work they did.

This is the first time nurses have attended a Board Meeting outside of negotiations. This extraordinary effort and dedication of our nurses led to real change in real time. When we stand together, we win!

In solidarity,

Theresa
Lexi
Holly
Carol
Sandy