MASSACHUSETTS NURSE NEWSLETTER:: July/August 2007

Executive Director's column

Heading to convention to cast your vote? Here is some info that will help

Julie Pinkham

If you have ever been to an MNA convention— and we'd love to see you at this year's convention in Springfield if you haven't (see Page 12 of the July/August Massachusetts Nurse Newsletter for details)—you know that it's an event that provides numerous benefits and opportunities, both educational and social, to MNA nurses from across the commonwealth.

But there is also an important right that comes with attending the annual convention: the right to vote on the policies and bylaws that determine how the MNA functions.

From dues structures to geographic regional breakdowns, any proposed change to the MNA's business configuration is laid on the table, opened up for debate and voted on by you, the attending members, at the MNA's annual business meeting.

Bylaws 101
The process of understanding how the business meeting unfolds and how the proposed issues are voted on can be a bit daunting. Likewise, it can be overwhelming to grapple with the actual language of any proposed policy/bylaw proposal—especially if you are new to the world of debating, discussing and voting on such issues.

The MNA wants to help you on this front, which is why you'll find two very important pieces of information in this newsletter:

1. A complete list of all suggested proposals (Pages 16-21 of the July/August Massachusette Nurse Newsletter)
2. A user-friendly summary of some of the key issues to be voted on at this year's convention (see remainder of article)

We hope that you will review these two items and, if you feel passionately one way or another on any given issue, that you will take the time to come to the MNA's convention on Oct. 4 and to vote at the annual business meeting.

Increasing RN involvement through "Associate Membership"
A "yes" vote on this bylaw proposal would result in the creation of a new category of membership, a category that would be defined as "associate membership."

The goal with this proposal is to make it appealing and affordable for RNs (i.e., those who do not get the rights, protections and benefits associated with being in an organized bargaining unit) to become involved with the MNA, thereby adding a new level of innovation, excitement and enthusiasm to the organization's activities as well as expanding the MNA's access to a more diverse population of nurses.

Associate members:

• Would have a separate dues structure
• Would have access to the MNA's discount/ benefit programs
• Would be able to participate in the MNA's various congresses and committees
• Would have access to some of the MNA's free CE programs
• Would not have any voting rights
• Could not run for an open seat on the Board of Directors
• Would not have the rights and protections associated with a negotiated, protected contract

In order for this proposal to pass, twothirds of the voting membership at the annual business meeting must vote in its favor.

If the bylaw proposal passes a subsequent, but related, issue would then be taken up: the issue of a separate dues structure, meaning how much an associate member would pay monthly. This issue would be a policy proposal, as opposed to bylaw proposal, and would require 50 percent (plus one) of the voting membership at the annual business meeting to vote in its favor.

The policy proposal currently suggests that associate members pay $20 per month.

Reduced dues for health professionals, part-time nurses
A "yes" vote on this policy proposal would result in a 25 percent reduction in the cost of dues for current MNA bargaining unit members who are either:

• Health professionals (as opposed to registered nurses)
• RNs who work a minimum number of hours (i.e., 16 hours or less per week, or 988 hours or less per year)

The goal of this policy proposal is to better serve those two specific populations of current MNA members.

In the case of MNA bargaining unit members who are health professionals, the reduced dues would address the fact that their professional, clinical and educational needs cannot be met exclusively by the MNA—meaning that they have to go elsewhere at times for access to information and resources specific to their clinical field.

In the case of MNA bargaining unit members who are working a minimum number of hours, the reduced dues would address the fact that their annual salary is generally far smaller than a full-time RNs. Despite this monetary difference, nurses who work a minimum number of hours have historically paid dues at the same rate as all other MNA members.

In order to qualify for the 25 percent reduction, nurses who work a minimum number of hours would need to:

• Pay their total annual dues in advance
• Provide proof to the MNA of their total number of hours worked annually (no more than 988 hours in total per year) As part of this policy proposal, health professionals and nurses who work a minimum number hours would retain all the benefits of a full MNA membership.

This issue would be a policy proposal, as opposed to bylaw proposal, and would require 50 percent (plus one) of the voting membership at the annual business meeting to vote in its favor.

Region boundary changes
A "yes" vote on this bylaw proposal would allow the MNA's Board of Directors to change Regional boundaries as needed, independent of feedback/votes from the Regional Councils.

Should this bylaw proposal receive a "yes" vote, the Board of Directors aims to change Regional boundaries so that they reflect the legislature's senatorial districts.

The goal of this proposal is two-fold:

• To better align the MNA's Regions, and thereby its members, with the state legislature's senatorial districts; this will allow members to be more strategic and precise in any legislative initiatives/campaigns
• Subsequently, the MNA will be able to address the long-standing issue of the financial discrepancies that have existed between the MNA's five various Regions

Membership in a specific MNA Region is currently determined by zip code, with members having the ability to request a transfer from one Region to another.

This bylaw change:

• Would net more members and money for four out of the MNA's five Regions.
• Would still allow members to request a transfer from one Region to another
• Would result in the elimination of the "common fund"
• Would allow the Regions to manage all of their own incoming dues monies, making individual regions responsible for their finances
• Would not change the legal relationship the MNA currently has with the Regions (the MNA is legally responsible for the Regions' activities/decisions even though they function independently in terms of programming and events)

*Should any Region find itself struggling financially to cover its expenses, this bylaw proposal includes language making it the MNA's responsibility to subsidize any of that Region's financial strains.

In order for this bylaw proposal to pass, two-thirds of the voting membership at the annual business meeting must vote in its favor.

For a complete list of bylaws proposals, see Page 16-21 of the July/August Massachusetts Nurse Newsletter.