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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.