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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2015)
PAGE 4 | May 1, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Union deal means fewer patients per nurse at Kaiser Sunnyside Nurses at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center are about to get something coveted by some of their peers: Staffing ratios that limit the number of patients they can be responsible for at one time. The ratios were worked out in negotiations last year between Kaiser Permanente managers and the union representing RNs at Sunnyside—Oregon Federa- tion of Nurses and Health Pro- fessionals Local 5017. The local Trumka to attend organizing summit in Vancouver May 19 National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will join some of the most talented union or- ganizers across the country in Vancouver, Wash., Tuesday, May 19, for the 2015 Organiz- ing Summit. The summit, presented by the Oregon AFL-CIO, also will fea- ture national AFL-CIO Organiz- ing Director Elizabeth Bunn. Participants will learn about the state labor federation’s col- laborative approach to building worker power. The summit will be held at the Vancouver Hilton from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration is $25. For more information, go to oraflcio.org/organizing-sum- mit/. is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. It started because about 160 of the roughly 350 in-patient registered nurses at Sunnyside were on 10-hour shifts, ex- changing patient information during a two-hour overlap. Management wanted them to move to eight- and 12-hour shifts, which are the norm for RNs throughout the Kaiser sys- tem. Union members met with management to bargain over that, and last October, agreed to it—in exchange for staffing ra- tios for all 350 in-patient RNs. The agreement creates a ma- trix of staffing ratios that vary depending on the kind of unit and how much care individual patients need. For example, the oncology unit will have no more than four patients per registered nurse. The new rules go into ef- fect May 10, and will lead to more nurses being hired. “[Staffing ratios] are ground- breaking for nursing as a profes- sion,” says Abigail Hall, an RN in Sunnyside’s progressive care unit. “It means better care for patients. That’s why we’re do- ing this.” Nurse staffing ratios are man- dated by state law in California, but not in Oregon. Local 5017’s contract with Kaiser is a local add-on to a na- tion-wide multi-union collective bargaining agreement that ex- pires in September. Re-Elect Robert Keyser Colleen DeShazer Mike Avent to the Port of St. Helens (Authorized and paid for by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council) Wayne Morris Award goes to IBEW #48’s Joe Esmonde The Wayne Morse Award for Integrity and Passion was presented to Joe Es- monde, political director for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48 . The presentation was made at the Wayne Morse Gala dinner April 17 hosted by the Democratic Party of Oregon. Esmonde has worked for the union for the past 25 years. A child of parents who went through the Great Depression, Esmonde credited President Roo- sevelt for providing opportunities and security for working people during difficult times. “Without FDR, it would have been different. The Democrats fixed it,” he said. Esmonde thanked his union for providing the same opportunities to him and his family today, which allowed him to own a home, send his sons to college, and enjoy a middle-class way of life. Also attending the Wayne Morse Gala were Gov. Kate Brown, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. The keynote speaker was U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Labor Council to host recognition dinner June 6 The Northwest Oregon Labor Council’s annual Labor Apprecia- tion and Recognition Night ban- quet will be held Saturday, June 6, at Milwaukie Elks Lodge, 13121 SE McLoughlin Blvd. Dinner tickets are $20 per person. Raffle tickets also will be sold. The event is two-fold: It’s a special evening honoring men and women identified by their peers for outstanding contributions to la- bor and their community, and it’s If you are working and are hurt by another company’s worker or action, then you may be able to recover money damages in addition to your workers’ comp claim. a fundraiser for Labor’s Commu- nity Service Agency. The labor council is currently accepting cash and prize donations for the raffle, and nominations for persons to be recognized. For more information or to or- der tickets, call 503-235-9444.
