Kaiser Panorama City

Once again, UNAC/UHCP health care professionals have discovered that “the power” often comes from within.

Last year, RNs working in the Infusion Centers at Kaiser’s Panorama City and Woodland Hills hospitals had become increasingly alarmed over patient care issues. “Conditions had really spun out of control,” says Denise Duncan, RN and UNAC/UHCP Staff Representative. UNAC/UHCP members had compiled a laundry list of concerns:

•  Management was attempting to extend hours of operation, despite poor working conditions and short staffing;

•  Equipment was seriously outdated or in disrepair;

•  Staffing levels were inadequate;

• Nurses worked without clear and appropriate doctors orders; and,

•  Morale was low and there was complete mistrust of the employer.

“We were working in an environment where management just assumed that if they didn’t hear anything, then everything was all right,” Duncan said. Then RNs at the Infusion Center finally said “enough is enough” and decided to take action on their own.

In coordination with their Union, UNAC/UHCP members took the initiative and called the nurses together in weekly meetings. They collected data and prepared a list of grievances.

“When one level of management was not responsive, members took their grievances to the next level,” said Duncan. “So when they presented a Step Two Grievance, management finally started paying attention to them.”

Kaiser was alarmed that the policies and equipment issues would result in a shutdown order from the Department of Health Services, according to Nancy Miles, another RN from the Woodland Hills unit. The rank and file team began meeting with management on a weekly or biweekly basis to hammer out new staffing and patient care solutions.

“Our nurses created solutions to improve the quality of the workplace, safeguard patient care, and raise morale in the department,” Miles noted. “Persistence and teamwork paid off because finally Kaiser responded to most of our proposals and the Infusion Center is back on track,” Miles added.

Through the Union-management cooperative efforts, RNs are now creating their own schedules and writing department policies and procedures. UNAC/UHCP members and management continue to meet every month to review and implement the new recommendations and monitor progress. As a result of the grievance, one of the unresponsive Kaiser supervisors was asked to resign.

The Infusion Unit action prompted UNAC/UHCP to follow up with a survey of members. The overwhelming theme of the responses indicates that most RNs were not aware that their union gave them so many rights. “It’s incredible,” said Miles. “We had no idea what being in the Union could mean for us and our colleagues. Our UNAC/UHCP contract gives us the legal right to fight for our patients and gives us guaranteed protection from management retribution.”

Kaiser Bellflower

Kaiser Permanente treated six of its Bellflower infusion unit RNs to lunch this month and picked up the tab—to the tune of about $119,000. That was the amount due to the RNs after UNAC/UHCP went to work to recover more than three years of back pay, covered under a clause in their union contract that went into effect in June of 2000.

Checks were handed out at a celebratory luncheon November 13 hosted by KP Bellflower management. The payouts were the result of a cooperative effort by hospital management, UNAC/UHCP leadership, and the RNs.

The Infusion RNs enjoying the payday lunch were: Audrey Burgess, Pat Carroll, Patsy Dixon, Bokhi Chung, Daisy Pangilinan, and Kweenie Marada. Their checks ranged from $4,487.60 to $30,446.

The 2000 contract included a modification of language related to how nurses are paid for on-call/standby time. Under the old formula, the RNs were paid $30 for a 15-hour on-call shift and $50 for 24 hours on-call. The new contract called for $10 for every standby hour and increasing to $12 per hour, starting in October 2001. But the hospital never implemented the increases.

The Infusion RNs asked the union to investigate the discrepancy and a UNAC/UHCP team met with Kaiser management to get the payments on track. But by February 2002, the increases were still not turning up in the nurse’s paychecks. Again, union representatives called Kaiser to task but by November 2002, the increases were still not showing up in paychecks.

The patience of the Infusion RNs was wearing thin and after more meetings, the union demanded a full and immediate accounting. The problem was traced to a miscommunication between the Kaiser human resources department and the hospital timekeeper. But then a Kaiser manager said that, due to the passage of time, it would be impossible to assess a precise calculation of the amounts owed and a settlement was proposed.

UNAC/UHCP leadership and the nurses said “no way.” They wanted a precise accounting. Pam Brodersen, Kaiser Bellflower RNA Medical Office President, met with the infusion nurses to reconstruct call sheets and pay stubs dating back to October 2000. The audit required as much as 25 hours of backtracking for each RN involved. Copies of the reconstructed records were then sent to management and to Ken Dietz, chief UNAC/UHCP contract negotiator.

Based on the painstaking reconstruction, Kaiser acknowledged their error and accepted the union’s audit — to the penny. “In the end, they were very apologetic and gracious about the issue,” said Infusion RN Audrey Burgess, one of the six compensated nurses.

The union effort was coordinated by Audrey Burgess, Infusion RN; Pam Brodersen, RNP, Medical Office President; Vicki Rohrig, Hospital President, and Cathy Ballestero, RN, Staff Representative.

“Without our union, we would have probably never gotten a full accounting,” noted UNAC/UHCP member Patsy Dixon. “But we all came together as a team, on both sides of the issue, and finally got it right,” added the Infusion RN.

Kaiser Fontana

In 2003, three Physician Assistants (PAs) at Kaiser Fontana were in danger of losing their jobs due to an arbitrary decision by management. Emergency Department physicians at Fontana wanted to improve the department’s efficiency and planned to eliminate three full-time positions as a means to attain that goal. The three PAs contacted their UNAC/UHCP representatives and asked for help. UNAC/UHCP did not hesitate to step in. They met with the physicians, PAs, RNP, Labor Relations, and managers and worked through the established Labor Management Issue Resolution Process to develop a different approach to the situation. As a result, all three Physician Assistant positions were saved. And in the process, the hospital increased the coverage for monitored beds and saved thousands of dollars per pay period!

Kaiser Orange County

At the Kaiser facility in Orange County, UNAC/UHCP discovered that several RNs in the Hemodialysis unit were classified at the wrong wage rate when they joined UNAC/UHCP. The RNs had been underpaid for more than a year. UNAC/UHCP stepped in to offer assistance. Four RNs in the Hemodialysis unit were identified and subsequently assigned to the appropriate wage level, Level III. Each RN also received the back pay they were due from the prior year.

Tenet Garden Grove

In March 2004, Irma Nunez, Vice President for Patient Services at Tenet Garden Grove, implemented a new policy for Charge Nurses. The policy guaranteed work for the Charge Nurses on their seventh shift at the In-House Registry rate, with an exemption for floating and cancellation. When the RNs learned about this policy, they met to discuss its implications. During their meeting, the nurses realized that the policy violated their collective bargaining agreement. With UNAC/UHCP’s assistance, the RNs took action to explain the issue to their colleagues and began circulating petitions in support of the union’s position on the issue. At the end of the month, they met with Garden Grove management to present the petition and discuss resolution. During the meeting, which was led by GGRNA President Martha Johnson and UNAC staff representatives, management agreed that policy violated the contract. Jan Hartfield, acting CNO, was designated to work with a union staffing committee on scheduling shifts to insure no further contract violations. Irma Nunez is no longer the VP of Patient Care Services at Garden Grove.

In October 2003, health care professionals at Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center learned that management planned to reduce staffing in the Emergency Department (ED). Concerned about layoffs, especially in light of previous reductions in the ED in the recent past, they contacted GGRNA-UNAC/UHCP for assistance. After discussions between UNAC and the administration, the ED staff met with management to develop a new staffing plan that would insure patient safety in the ED and was also acceptable to management. In the end, staffing in the ED was actually increased instead of reduced.

Tenet Irvine

In early 2004, IAN members at Irvine Regional Hospital expressed concern about management and staffing in the NICU. IAN-UNAC/UHCP met with management and secured a commitment for immediate improvement in the NICU staffing. The two parties also agreed to continue to meet to discuss ongoing issues. UNAC continues to closely monitor NICU staffing, ready to offer assistance and support wherever necessary. 

In December 2003, the management at Irvine Regional Hospital announced a unilateral decision to reduce the merit increase potential by a full percentage point – from 3% to 2%. IAN-UNAC/UHCP filed both an Unfair Labor Practice complaint (ULP) and a grievance against these cuts, which affected the members in the bargaining unit in the spring of 2004. IAN-UNAC/UHCP reached an agreement with management. The settlement included an increase in the merit increase to 3% for each employee receiving 92% or above on their annual evaluation, a decision benefiting nearly 30 employees. Later in 2004, the threshold for receiving the 3% increase will be lowered to include those employees scoring 90% or greater on the annual evaluation. Unfortunately, management was slow to follow their own policies. Not long afterward, UNAC/UHCP became aware of the problem and helped two RNs who believed their annual evaluations had been scored unfairly to be reevaluated. Both RNs were reassessed and both received an increase in percentage from 2% to 3%.

Tenet Lakewood

LRNA members are due to receive their 7% across-the-board increase provided for in the Model Agreement in May 2004. Local management interpreted the agreement in such a way as to exclude wage option and per diem members from receiving the increase. Upon learning about the problem, LRNA-UNAC/UHCP intervened with management on behalf of its members. In the end, ATB increases were insured the entire membership.

Tenet Fountain Valley

Last fall, Fountain Valley Professional Association members became aware of a unilateral change in the per diem policy, excluding Thanksgiving as a holiday for purposes of meeting the annual commitment to work a specified number of holidays and weekends each year. FVPA-UNAC/UHCP filed a grievance and was scheduled for arbitration. The issue was settled at the negotiating table, with management agreeing to reverse the policy and restore Thanksgiving as a qualifying holiday for PD commitment.