Why does MNA need a dues increase?

To make you and your profession the voice of health care in Massachusetts. Without strong efforts by the MNA, the health care environment created by the industry will become even more hostile for nurses providing direct patient care.

How was the amount of the increase and timeframe calculated?

The dues amount and timeframe being proposed are based on a carefully constructed five- year action plan developed by the MNA Board of Directors with the input of the membership gathered over a year-long process. Based on members’ needs and goals, a comprehensive vision of where the MNA needed to be in five years was developed. The Board then worked with staff to develop a budget that could achieve the membership’s expressed goals and objectives. At regional meetings, members will have the opportunity to review and discuss the five-year plan. The debate and vote will occur at the business meeting on October 7th at 2 p.m.

Why aren’t the dues pro-rated based on hours of work or union/non-union status?

You could, and some organizations do, apply a dues rate as a percent of gross salary—versus a flat rate as is the case at MNA. However, we believe that the flat rate is more fair and appropriate for the following reasons:

• The hourly status of a member bears no relationship to the work of representing members. The overwhelming majority of our services (grievances, arbitrations, legal fees, mileage, telephone and hands-on work), bears no relationship to the number of employee hours. Representation does not occur on a sliding scale. It is applied equally to all members regardless of the cost to provide that representation.
  
• Any dues rate based on a percentage of gross salary to finance the organization’s work and five-year plan would not be significantly less for part time workers than what we are proposing with a flat rate, but the dues would be dramatically higher for full time nurses. For example, a nurse earning $34,000 a year would pay $680 per year (close to what is being proposed now) with a 2% dues rate currently used by another organization, while a nurse at the top of the scale in Boston would pay over $2,000. In essence, the members working greater hours would be asked to finance and subsidize the nurses who are working less hours.
  
• Creating a pro-rated system would require enlarging the membership department to implement members’ dues through W2 forms. This seems both invasive and counter-productive to the members’ goals.

However, the MNA does realize that there are nurses who do work a fixed schedule of minimum hours as well as MNA members who don’t belong to a local bargaining unit, but both want to stay connected to the MNA. In response to these issues, the Board will be convening a task force to explore options for alternative dues structures for these situations, which will then be considered by the Board and brought before the membership at the 2005 annual business meeting.

Why is an inflation factor attached to the proposal and how was it calculated?

This has been added to account for the typical cost of inflation of doing business each year. Beginning in 2008, the dues proposal calls for an annual increase of 3% per year. The rate of 3% was chosen after a review of the consumer price index (CPI) for the last 10 years, and a comparison of the wage adjustments for our members over the same period. If we don’t include an inflationary component, we will end up cannibalizing our budget over time as is currently happening. The rate proposed matches the inflation rate index of the last 10 years and is sufficient to assure MNA can keep pace with cost inflation without reducing member programs and goals.

What happened to the monies from the ANA disaffiliation?

MNA previously was required to pay a per-cap per-member fee to ANA. When the members voted to disaffiliate, these monies were reallocated to:

• Pay off annual operating deficit
  The prior leadership of the MNA was operating at a $400,000 annual deficit; therefore, the first $400,000 of the new annual revenue went just to balance the annual budget.
  
• Expand services as requested by the membership
  • Lowered staff to bargaining unit ratio – better servicing
  • Expanded organizing department
  • Expanded nursing, health care research and occupational health & safety program
  • Rebuilt the government affairs department from scratch
  • Enhanced web, graphics and communication
    
• Implement Statewide Safe Care Campaign
  Our Safe Staffing Bill was approved by the Joint Committee on Health Care and passed by the Senate. We came closer to passing minimum RN-to-patient ratios than any other state since California and are on the verge of passing this bill to become law when the Legislature reconvenes in January. This campaign costs money–radio ads, newspaper ads, polling, and direct mail.
  
• Create New National Organization for staff nurses
  Creating a national voice with like-minded groups for staff nurses to take on issues such as safe RN staffing and mandatory overtime.

Why is the decision to be made at the Business Meeting and not by mail ballot?

MNA bylaws specify that such a vote on a dues increase is to take place at the annual business meeting. This is how MNA dues have been established for 100 years.

MNA is a democratic organization, where all major decisions are made through a one-member, one-vote system of governance, which takes place at the annual business meeting. This system grants each member the right to debate issues and cast his/her vote to determine the direction of the organization.

The MNA bylaws allow members at the business meeting the opportunity to debate and amend any dues proposal on the floor of the business meeting; therefore, a mail ballot cannot satisfy the requirements of the bylaws.

Why is the meeting being held at 2 p.m.?

This is the traditional time slot for our annual business meeting. Given that nursing is a 24/7 profession and there is no single time that would work for everyone, we gave the membership ample advance notice of the meeting date to assure those that are interested can adjust their schedules to attend.