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Resolutions More than 100 resolutions on a wide variety of topics were submitted by the AFT executive council, state federations and local unions for consideration by delegates to the convention. Convention committees considered these resolutions and recommended their approval, modification or rejection to convention delegates. Delegates then voted on which resolutions to approve. The following are the resolutions that most affect health care workers. The text of other selected resolutions passed by the 76th AFT convention can be found in the "About AFT" area. Click on the name of the resolution to read it:
WHEREAS, licensed nurses provide the majority of hands-on patient care in hospitals and other health care settings; and WHEREAS, during the past decade, health care employers have cut the number of nurses in an effort to save money and remain competitive in an era of managed care; and WHEREAS, many nurses were forced to leave the profession, or chose to leave the profession due to unsafe staffing and dangerous working conditions; and WHEREAS, the average age of working nurses has steadily increased over the past two decades, with an ever-increasing number of nurses retiring; and WHEREAS, fewer and fewer people are choosing nursing as a career as evidenced by annual surveys of the American Academy of Nursing Colleges, which show a five-year decline in nursing school enrollments; and WHEREAS, several areas of the country are already experiencing a nursing shortage as evidenced by increased nurse vacancies and lucrative sign-on bonuses and other perks; and WHEREAS, experts in the field predict a national nursing shortage unlike those seen in the past where new recruits were able to fill in the holes; and WHEREAS, a nursing shortage will seriously affect the working lives of FNHP/AFT members as workers as well as every potential patient in any health care setting; and WHEREAS, staffing levels of licensed professional nurses in our nation’s hospitals and other health care facilities have been reduced to often dangerous levels as a result of managed care and other financially driven motives; and WHEREAS, there are no national standards, requirements or guidelines for safe and appropriate staffing levels, leaving it to the discretion of management to determine how units should be staffed; and WHEREAS, hospitals and other health care facilities are generally not required to collect data on patient census and staffing levels, and even those that do are not required to publicly disclose their findings; and WHEREAS, there is no national data on the relationship between nurse staffing and patient outcomes that could support efforts to demand safe nurse-to-patient ratios either in contract negotiations or in state legislatures; and WHEREAS, there is no national data on the effects short staffing may have on injury and illness rates among nurses and other health care professionals: RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT recognize the important role registered nurses play in providing quality care to patients; and RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT will work with all of its health care locals as well as other health care unions to attract qualified individuals to the nursing profession; and RESOLVED, that the appropriate governmental bodies should provide research funds to determine the best methods for recruiting and retaining highly skilled professional registered nurses; and RESOLVED, that we expand our efforts to organize registered nurses so that we can use the collective bargaining process to improve work practices and conditions in all health care settings that will allow for registered nurses to provide patient care in a safe, collaborative environment; and RESOLVED, that hospitals and other health care facilities should be required to collect data on patient census, staffing levels and outcomes (in a nationally standardized method of collection) and to disclose those numbers to the public; and RESOLVED, that the appropriate governmental bodies should provide funds for research that would determine the relationship between staffing levels and patient outcomes; and RESOLVED, that the appropriate governmental bodies should provide funds for research that would determine the effects short staffing has on nurses and other health care professionals; and RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT participate in such research to the fullest extent possible, ensuring that the concerns of front-line caregivers are acknowledged as research is conducted. # # #
PROTECTING PATIENTS AND PROMOTING QUALITY HEALTH SERVICES WHEREAS, the AFT has established its reputation in the labor community as a union whose leaders advocate for our members while working to strengthen the institutions in which we work; and WHEREAS, protecting the quality of care provided by the U.S. health system is an issue of importance to all Americans; and WHEREAS, there are very few regulations or effective oversight mechanisms to guarantee the quality of care received by patients in hospitals; and WHEREAS, patients currently have no way of knowing which hospitals in their community may have recurrent or serious quality problems; and WHEREAS, it is estimated that 100,000 hospital patients die each year as a result of preventable medical errors, an estimate that many researchers and health professionals believe to be low; and WHEREAS, the continuing pressure to reduce costs is leading to even more dangerous conditions for patients and health professionals; and WHEREAS, hospitals and other health care facilities that attempt to maintain high standards of quality find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in a market driven by the pursuit of lower costs; and WHEREAS, our employers and our union, as purchasers of health care insurance, are in a position to exert substantial influence in support of institutions that attempt to maintain high standards of patient care: RESOLVED, that the AFT, through the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, develop tools to assist those who bargain health benefits to ensure that their members will be sent to health care facilities that maintain high standards of quality; and RESOLVED, that the AFT promote the use of quality as an important standard in purchasing health benefits; and RESOLVED, that all FNHP local leaders work vigorously with the management of the health care institutions that employ our members to establish error-reduction programs with the following components:
RESOLVED, that the AFT call on employers to institute "blame-free environments" so that systemic problems that lead to medical errors can be reported, analyzed and corrected in non-punitive atmosphere; and RESOLVED, that the AFT continue to work for stronger and more effective oversight of the quality of patient care in hospitals and other health care facilities; and RESOLVED, that the AFT, in the hope of reducing unnecessary deaths in the U.S., forward a resolution to the AFL-CIO convention to encourage all unions to promote these programs while purchasing health care for our 16 million members and their dependents. # # #
RESTORATION OF APPROPRIATE REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR HOSPITALS WHEREAS, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) made significant reductions in spending for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs; and WHEREAS, a significant portion of these spending reductions represent payments that reimburse all hospitals and payments that specifically reimburse teaching hospitals for their special missions, medical education and caring for low-income Medicare, Medicaid and indigent populations; and WHEREAS, the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) provided only a fraction of the BBA relief needed by hospitals; and WHEREAS, the Congressional Budget Office’s new fiscal estimate shows that the BBA-mandated Medicare cuts alone will exceed congressional intent by $62 billion; and WHEREAS, without further BBA relief, six out of 10 hospitals will not be able to cover the costs of treating Medicare patients by the year 2004, and teaching hospitals will find it increasingly difficult if not impossible to continue their clinical, education and research missions, ultimately affecting patient care throughout the United States; and WHEREAS, the BBA of 1997 provides for Medicare payment updates for hospital inpatient services that are below the market basket index, Medicare’s measure of inflation; and WHEREAS, Indirect Medical Education (IME) payments are absolutely critical for teaching hospitals to maintain their societal missions, and the BBRA only delayed the BBA-mandated IME payment cut of 29 percent for one year; and WHEREAS, the Medicare and Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) programs both recognize the special needs of hospitals that serve large numbers of low-income patients and preserve access to hospital services for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries: RESOLVED, that we support legislation restoring full inflationary updates for Medicare payments for hospital inpatient services ("The American Hospital Preservation Act" (S. 2018), "Hospital Preservation and Equity Act" (H.R. 3580)); and RESOLVED, that we support legislation freezing the Medicare IME payments to teaching hospitals at its present rate of 6.5 percent ("The Teaching Hospital Preservation Act of 2000" (S. 2394/H.R. 4239); and RESOLVED, that we support legislation which freezes BBA-mandated Medicare DSH and Medicaid DSH cuts at the FY 2000 level ("Medicaid DSH Preservation Act of 2000" (S. 2299/H.R. 3699), "Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Act of 2000" (S. 2308/H.R. 3710)). # # #
PUBLIC HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS WHEREAS, public sector health care institutions have a rich history of providing for the health care needs of low-income residents and others with specialized health care needs; and WHEREAS, public academic medical centers provide quality health care to a variety of residents in the geographic areas in which they are located; and WHEREAS, public sector facilities offer quality health care services that often decline when public institutions are privatized or merged with other institutions; and WHEREAS, public academic medical centers provide learning experiences for residents and other health care professionals in training; and WHEREAS, public academic medical centers provide medical expertise and research that is generally unavailable in other types of health care settings; and WHEREAS, without proper fiscal oversight, public health care facilities can often face serious financial problems: RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT support adequate funding and other resources for quality public health care institutions; and RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT support public employees providing quality health care services to members of the public; and RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT will take an active role in ensuring fiscal responsibility in public health care institutions in which our members work. # # #
WHEREAS, the AFT was founded and built on the fundamental principle that organized educators and professionals could more effectively professionalize both their work and their workplaces, achieve greater dignity as individual workers and deliver the highest-quality services to children, the public and the community as a part of a union; and WHEREAS, the AFT has a proud history of being one of the most successful organizing unions in the labor movement; and WHEREAS, millions of educators, government employees, health care workers and others have yet to enjoy the benefits of union representation and collective bargaining, and the need for the men and women who staff these institutions to assist and support one another and help strengthen their institutions is greater than ever; and WHEREAS, the rapidly changing nature of work and the workplace offer historic opportunities for employees and their representatives to strengthen the institutions in which members work and add to the benefits of unionization; and WHEREAS, AFT has been a strong voice for the fundamental rights and dignity of each and every individual, and history demonstrates that free unions and the right to bargain collectively are essential to perpetuating those values in American society: RESOLVED, that the AFT reinvigorate a culture of organizing that will encompass every division, every affiliate and every national union department in a coordinated campaign to increase membership and bring more employees the benefits of unionism; and RESOLVED, that the national AFT form partnerships with state and local affiliates in strategic and targeted organizing campaigns and that AFT will assist affiliates to move to an organizing culture that involves leadership and rank-and-file members in activities that grow and strengthen our union; and RESOLVED, that the AFT, with its affiliates, reach out to the unorganized both within and outside our current constituencies, with one goal: to provide members with an even stronger voice about improving the conditions under which they work and the quality of services they provide; and RESOLVED, that the national AFT explore alternative structures, such as federated locals and multi-employer and multi-state councils, to organize and deliver services more effectively and investigate expanding associate membership into additional constituencies; and RESOLVED, that the national AFT work with state and local affiliates to deliver effective, practical and professional training programs for members and would-be members as an integral part of an expanded organizing program. # # #
REDUCING SHARPS AND NEEDLESTICK INJURIES WHEREAS, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 health care workers sustain sharps and needlestick injuries every year1; and WHEREAS, sharps and needlestick injuries expose workers to hepatitis B (HBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C (HCV), for which there is no vaccine. As many as 133 U.S. health care workers have sustained a work-related HIV infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 800 workers sustained a work-related HBV infection in 1995 and that currently 400 health care workers annually contract an occupational hepatitis B infection. In addition, an estimated 1,120 workers are annually infected with hepatitis C associated with a work exposure. Hepatitis C infection is especially tragic because 85 percent of all HCV-infected individuals develop chronic infection and nearly 70 percent develop chronic liver disease; and WHEREAS, one case of serious blood-borne pathogen infection can add up to $1 million or more in testing expenditures, lost-time wages and disability payments; and WHEREAS, thousands of health care workers suffer needless psychological trauma after a needlestick injury during the months’ long wait for the results of HIV and HCV serological tests, and the emotional impact of a needlestick injury can be severe and long lasting even when infection is not transmitted; and WHEREAS, nurses and health care workers as well as other AFT members such as school nurses, health aides and special education paraprofessionals are at risk of sharps injuries (especially lancets, needles); and WHEREAS, the use of devices with safety features, such as self-sheathing or self-blunting needles and needleless systems have been shown to measurably decrease needlestick and sharps injuries; and WHEREAS, FNHP affiliates have taken leadership roles in the passage of groundbreaking state legislation in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Maryland to mandate and promote the use of safer devices: RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT support the universal introduction of safer devices in all health care settings and to that end will work for the passage of federal legislation such as HR 1899 and S 1140 that will mandate the use of safer devices in all health care institutions and the involvement of workers in the evaluation and selection of devices so that health care workers as well as other exposed workers are universally protected; and RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT will continue to assist affiliates in the passage of state legislation that will protect health care workers; and RESOLVED, that the FNHP/AFT will inform and train affiliates about the issue of sharp and needlestick injuries and effective methods for evaluating and selecting safer devices. _________ # # #
WHEREAS, the AFT represents members throughout the public sector in school districts and state local and municipal government, who, as a result of that employment, face a wide variety of occupational safety and health hazards; and WHEREAS, the National Safety Council reports that working for the government is twice as dangerous as construction and three times more dangerous than for the private sector as a whole; and WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics Workplace Violence Survey 1992-1996 reports that government employees represent 37 percent of the victims of workplace violence and assault while they make up only 16 percent of the U.S. workforce; and WHEREAS, AFT members in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin are denied full and comprehensive coverage under a federally approved state OSHA plan; and WHEREAS, AFT members in federally approved state plan states are often inadequately protected; and WHEREAS, although it has been 30 years since the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the nation has failed to bring mandatory coverage for public employees; and WHEREAS, voluntary enactment of a comparable standard by states has not provided an appropriate level of worker protection in approximately one half of the states; and WHEREAS, the General Duty Clause of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (Public Law 91-596, Section 5 (a)(1), state, "Each employer shall furnish each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees"; and WHEREAS, the desired action stated in the General Duty Clause has not come into universal being for all workers in the public section: RESOLVED, that the AFT urge Congress to enact the Fairness for State and Local Worker Act, H.R. 776, to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide for coverage under the Act of employees of states and political subdivisions of states and comparable acts in the U.S. Senate so the OSHA protection is guaranteed to all public employees; and RESOLVED, that the AFT reaffirm its belief that public employees can no longer be treated as second-class citizens regarding health and safety protection. # # #
DOMESTIC PARTNERS HEALTH CARE BENEFITS WHEREAS, many employees are presently covered by health insurance provided by their insurance carriers that do not include in the definition of dependents appropriate language that would extend the benefits and coverage to domestic partners; and WHEREAS, in many instances, these domestic partners are thereby denied any coverage through no fault of their own as they or their partner have been unable to secure health benefits they should have been provided as dependents; and WHEREAS, increasingly these benefits are being made available to educators and other employees in the public and private sector; and WHEREAS, negotiating attempts to secure this coverage have been unsuccessful in many educational worksites; and WHEREAS, the exclusion of domestic partners as eligible dependents by most health care providers is patently unfair: RESOLVED, that the AFT, when requested, work cooperatively with its locals to help secure domestic partner dependent health benefits in their workplace; and RESOLVED, that until such benefits are available to educators and staff in their workplace, the AFT will secure from its health insurance carriers a health insurance policy that includes domestic partners in the definition of dependents and make this plan available to its members as part of the AFT PLUS Program. # # #
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American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO - 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20001 Copyright by the American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO.
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