There are many  provisions that other union nurses have won in their contracts that improve staffing that we can fight for, from enforceable minimum staffing levels on all units, including the Emergency Department and procedural areas, to contractually guaranteed committees that lock in nurse input into staffing decisions. The key question is whether you think that RGH, who has cut staffing, supplies, and imposed conditions that have led to high turnover all over our hospital since they took over, will improve staffing all by themselves. Having a union will not fix all of our staffing problems, but we’ve seen from the experience of union nurses all over the state and country that when nurses have a real voice, we can fight for improvements to staffing rules that will protect our patients and our licenses.