FROM THE EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT Elex Tenney

2045 SE Ankeny Street, Portland, OR 97214 www.ofnhp.org 503.657.9974

In This Issue:

OREGON FEDERATION OF NURSES AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

July 2012

OFNHP, KPNW Unions Ratify New Three-Year

Contract

New OFNHP Officers

Physician Assistant Shares Her Skills

Internationally

Meet Our New Staff

Changes for ACs in Primary Care

RDH Wins in Arbitration

Mental Health Dept. Still Under Attack

Help Us Preserve

BU Work!

Leading the Way in Healthcare Reform On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On that day, the justices affirmed the right of all American citizens to have affordable healthcare. And while this historic decision does not immediately solve all of our problems, it does give us an opportunity to reform our significantly dysfunctional health care delivery system. It begins to level the playing field so that your friends, family, or even the patient in your care who just lost their job, don’t have to risk bankruptcy and foreclosure in order to maintain their health. We all know that our current system is not only too expensive but is also very often inequitably available and inconsistently applied. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but the ACA provides a path to get that work completed. You, as a front line health care worker, can make an enormous impact on how this delivery system is designed. In fact, if this system is not designed with front line professionals engaged in that process, it will fail.

Oregon has recently been the benificiary of a Medicaid waiver of $1.9 billion over the next five years. This was due to SB1580, a bill signed earlier this year by Governor John Kitzhaber. The bill approved the establishment of Coordinated Care Organizations in Oregon, and means that change is coming to Oregon regardless of decisions elsewhere. This waiver allows Oregon to be more creative with how we spend those Medicaid dollars, which represent a significantly larger amount of money than we have traditionally seen in this state. And now that the ACA has been upheld, we can also look forward to helping make necessary changes in Washington State, as well.

Decisions about local health exchanges will be made where your input as a front line health care worker will be crucial: in our state legislatures. We, as an organized workforce, have an advantage in being able to impact the design of new healthcare delivery systems in Oregon and Washington. What we do and how we participate will help determine the efficacy of health care in this region for many years to come.

I hope you will join us as we enbrace the great work which lies ahead of us. As healthcare professionals, we have always made a difference in the care that we give. It is time to make a difference in how that care is managed and distributed.

OFNHP will give you regular updates regarding health care reform and how you can engage in that process via email, this newsletter, and on our website at www.OFNHP.org. To sign up for our email list, please make sure we have your home (not work) email address. To be sure we have it, you can send a quick note to itsmyunion@ofnhp.org. Also, please save the date now and plan to join us for our next Membership Meeting: Wednesday, September 19, 6:30 p.m. at the Monarch Hotel.

In Solidarity,

Elex Tenney OFNHP Executive President etenney@ofnhp.org 503.887.5781

Page 2 | www.ofnhp.org

No Local Bargaining — No Takebacks Strong Unions Prevail! After two months of tough negotiations, Kaiser Permanente and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions finalized a Tentative Agreement in late May. Immediately after that Tentative Agreement was reached, Coalition delegates voted to recommend ratification. Each member union was tasked with returning to their membership, sharing the contents of the Tentative Agreement, and asking members to vote for or against ratification. Our OFNHP leaders spent two weeks visiting worksites across the entire Northwest region, meeting with members, discussing the agreement, and taking votes. At the end of our OFNHP voting period, the results were overwhelmingly positive. Members voted 903 to 12 in support of ratifying the new national agreement.

In late June, results from the rest of the KPNW unions came in. All of the KPNW unions have ratified the new contract settlement. So we join our brothers and sisters at SEIU, UFCW, ONA and ILWU in celebrating the tremendous victory we secured at national bargaining! Mid-July, we should hear from the rest of the unions nationwide, and be able to formally complete contract ratification.

The full tentative agreement can be found on the OFNHP website, www.OFNHP.org. Key provisions of the agreement include: • 2% wage increase across the board for each of the next three years, starting in October 2012. • Maintenance of the Employment and Income Security Agreement, guaranteeing one year’s pay to the affected employee if their position is eliminated. • No cuts to existing benefits. • No loss of pension. • Kaiser Westside Medical Center will be recognized as a KPNW facility and will open under existing union contracts. • Total Health Incentive Program to be created, separate from PSP, with initial payout possible beginning in 2014. • Dedicated plan to support UBTs, including funding the LMP Trust Fund. • Agreement that temps and subcontractors will be minimized. • National Agreement to be enforced by both labor and management, with training for labor and Labor Relations reps. • Additional funding for Ben Hudnall Trust to develop our workforce. • 3-year contract, including the extension of current local agreements, and operative letters of understanding.

OFNHP, KPNW Unions Vote to Ratify New Three-Year Contract

www.ofnhp.org | Page 3

Congratulations to Our New Executive President, Officers and Delegates Bargaining Unit Leaders and Other Offices Up in 2013The results from our 2012 Board election are in, and OFNHP members have chosen our new slate of officers and delegates. OFNHP's constitution prescribes two-year terms for all board positions, with half of the executive offices up in odd years, and half in even years. Bargaining Unit officers are also elected in even years. Congratulations to all of the candidates, and to each of you for exercising your right to vote for the future of our union!

Many thanks to the Election Committee: Ute Kongsbak, Dan Georgeson, and Jennifer Villegas.

OFNHP's 2012-2013 officers are:

Executive President Executive Vice President Elex Tenney Vacant

Executive Treasurer Executive Secretary Meg McGowan-Tuttle Vacant

VP of Health & Safety VP of External Organizing Christobal Mozingo Vacant

VP of Publications VP of Legislation & COPE Nancy Amstad-Hite Amanda Hill

VP of Leadership Devel. VP of Retirees Kathy Schmidt Dave Charlton

NW OR Labor Cncl. Delegates AFT-National Delegates Duane Alan Leichtamer Meg McGowan-Tuttle Amanda Hill Laura Wambold Christobal Mozingo Washington State Labor Council Amanda HillConvention Delegates Nancy Amstad-Hite Nancy Amstad-Hite Nancy Mulsoff

President, LABPRO BU President, PRO BU Diana Smirnoff VacantVP, LABPRO BU VP, PRO BU Vacant Sherwin Moscow

President, RDH BU President, RN BU Sharon Brown Dawnette McCloud VP, RDH BU VP, RN BU Jackie Farlinger-King Nancy Mulsoff

President, TECH BU President ONA BU Lori Wambold Karen Yates VP, TECH BU VP, ONA BU Vacant Kathy Gibbens

OFNHP Elects New Officers

Page 4 | www.ofnhp.org

OFNHP Physician Assistant Shares Her Skills Internationally

Two Weeks Volunteering and Teaching in BelizeMost days, Christine Legler goes to her job as a Family Practice Physician Assistant at Kaiser’s Tualatin clinic. But she also travels extensively, and often volunteers in developing countries. This allows her to combine her love of travel with her commitment to helping others by providing quality medical care.

During the first two weeks of March of this year, Legler volunteered with Hillside Healthcare International in Central America, in the Toledo District of Belize. “The clinic serves the Mayans in the southern part of Belize,” said Legler. “It’s a very poor area; the northern part is much wealthier, and there isn’t much health care down there in the Toledo area.”

At Hillside, care is provided by medical students participating in a one-month program to improve their skills and gain global experience. The students are taught by volunteer faculty who supervise their work in rotations ranging from two weeks to months or even years. Legler volunteered as a faculty supervisor, working with the students to hone their skills and provide care for this underserved population.

“It’s really medicine like it used to be,” said Legler. “Where you had time to talk to people, teach students, and really make a difference. It’s tough in primary care [in the U.S.] sometimes to feel like you’re making a difference. I encourage people who have an interest in global health to do it; it’s a very worthwhile venture. In U.S. healthcare, we’ve gotten so caught up in other things that it’s nice to get back to the roots of caring for people. You have to do the best you can and be creative with the resources you have. We’ve gotten very mechanized in this country. It’s worthwhile to spend time trying to help solve medical problems in a way that really uses your brain and reconnects you with your training and skills.”

Hillside wasn’t Legler’s first trip as an international medical volunteer, and it won’t be her last. In November of this year, she’ll be heading to El Salvador to work with Prevention International: No Cervical Cancer (PINCC). PINCC works worldwide to create sustainable cervical cancer screening, treatment and prevention programs in developing countries. For more information about Hillside or PINCC, visit their websites at www.hillsidebelize.org or www.pincc.org.

Save the Date! Join OFNHP and other union members, friends and families for the annual Labor Day picnic

at Oaks Park. Fliers and email invitations will go out later this summer with more details. But make sure it's on your calendar now! Oaks Park, Monday, September 3. Hot dogs,

hamburgers, rides and games with some of the best people around: YOU!

ChrisLegleronatriptoBhutan.“Ontopofamountain,surroundedbyprayerflags.Oneofmyfavoriteplacesintheworld.”

www.ofnhp.org | Page 5

Welcome New Union Staff! There are a lot of new faces around OFNHP lately. We’re happy to have them on board, helping keep the union running so we can continue the demanding work of defending and enforcing our members’ contracts.

In the front office, we have three new administrative assistants. All of them are helping with basic administration and organization, while also focusing on individual areas of attention. Stephanie Sheets manages our complex member database; Catherine Green works on special projects like supporting our new Retiree Committee; and Jesse O’Brien keeps our IT and networking in tip-top shape.

We also have a new Internal Organizer, Jeff Carr. Originally from the San Francisco Bay area, Jeff is a University of California–Berkeley graduate who has worked with the Labor movement since 1980, most recently in the San Diego area. He has a broad range of experience with both public- and private-sector unions, representing diverse interests including school employees, county employees, and healthcare workers including hospital staff. Jeff and his wife moved to Canby, Oregon a couple of years ago when she retired, to be closer to her children and grandchildren. “Some people ask me when I’m going to retire,” Jeff says. “But this is my life. Labor is what I do. I go out and stop management from beating up our members, and I have no plans to stop anytime soon.” Jeff will be handling the Salem area and will work with Internal Organizer John Scott to cover the Sunnyside Hospital. He can be reached at (503) 880-4183 and jcarr@ofnhp.org.

Changes for ACs in Primary Care Our Primary Care Allied Clinicians (Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners)

have been pushing back against a host of extreme and unilateral changes from management: changes to schedules, role changes, even having to fight to keep regular AC meetings. Unilateral changes are distinctly not in the spirit of the LMP agreement and very often, directly violate our union contracts. Our members have been engaged and active in defending themselves and are making a little bit of progress every day. Professional Bargaining Unit members Carol Simmons, Kathy Van Beeck, Sherrie Thomas, and Rick Battson have been incredibly active, among many others. Through impact bargaining, we have kept the regular AC meetings, and later this month we will begin bargaining over KP’s request for schedule changes.

Dental Hygienist Wins in ArbitrationAn OFNHP Registered Dental Hygienist was inappropriately assigned a Level 4 Corrective Action over the change of a verbal order. The issue was small and never should have reached a Level 4. We prepared to take the case to arbitration, to demonstrate to management that we were serious and had no intent to let this slide. Our persistence and willingness to see it all the way through succeeded! The member has had the Level 4 removed from her file altogether, and KP understands we are vigilant and will respond quickly.

Mental Health Department Still Under AttackIn the ongoing struggle to preserve Bargaining Unit work and make management follow our contracts, the Mental Health department has had a long battle. Management has stated that it is less expensive to outsource our mental health providers’ work, but has not backed up their statement. We recently demanded a feasabil-ity study to examine the true costs and benefits of outsourcing versus limiting referrals and retaining the work in-house.

Help Preserve Bargaining Unit Work We are trying to be very alert about instances of management replacing OFNHP jobs with MDs. If you see this happening, please contact the union office and let us know right away! 503.657.9974 x110.

Union Updates

Newadminstaff:(l-r)StephanieSheets,CatherineGreen,JesseO’Brien.

InternalOrganizerJeffCarr

American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIOOregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, AFT Local 50172045 SE Ankeny Street Portland OR 97214-1663

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE

PAIDPORTLAND ORPERMIT NO 816

Heartbeat

Mail: 2045 SE Ankeny Street Portland, Oregon 97214-1663

Phone: 503-657-9974 Toll-free: 800-OFN-5017

email: itsmyunion@ofnhp.org

Web Site: www.ofnhp.org

A Union of Professionals

Co

nta

ct O

FNH

P

ManufacturedwithGreen-eCertifiedWindpower.

Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals

“We must indeed all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all

hang separately.”—BenjaminFranklin,1776,atsigningofDeclarationofIndependence