Once again, thank you to all CRONA nurses for participating in the vote last week. Your voice has been heard loud and clear. We had a tremendous turnout and nearly 90% of the nurses who voted, agreed with the recommendation from the CRONA Executive Board and the Negotiation Committee.
A strike is something we hope to avoid. The hospitals left us no choice but to seek the authority to call a strike as they have continued to ignore our concerns and treat nurses disrespectfully.
Despite an extensive and aggressive campaign by the hospitals, nurses communicated their displeasure in a near unanimous voice. The Tentative Agreement offered to us and rejected in December was unacceptable. That’s why the Executive Board and the Negotiation Committee did not offer a recommendation on it. The provisions imposed on us recently are arbitrary and capricious. That’s why we recommended and nurses agreed, to vote for a strike authorization.
All we have ever wanted is a fair contract that respects our work, values our experience, treats us fairly in professional advancement and offers us a comparable pay structure. Without that type of contract, CRONA will not and has not recommended a contract for approval to our members.
The hospitals have said publicly their door is open to new proposals from CRONA. Many of you have given us your ideas, concerns and suggestions. We are compiling the various ideas into an offer we believe is fair and meets our minimum requirements.
As always, we will continue to keep you informed to the extent we can.
Again, thank you for your support, your vote and the confidence you have displayed in our recommendations. We hope we are able to soon present you a contract that the CRONA Board and the Negotiation Committee can recommend to you.
-- The CRONA Board
