CRITICAL UPDATE February 2023

CRITICAL UPDATE

When We Fight, We Win!

On November 7th, six weeks after their previous contracts had expired, Temple University Hospital nurses and allied health professionals ratified new threeyear contract deals that represent major steps forward in protecting and retaining

seasoned caregivers in North Philadelphia. TUHNA won new staffing guidelines that cannot be changed by the hospital, a newly created system for follow-up and debrief on incidents of workplace violence, and wages that give Temple RNs the highest pay scales in any union contract in the state, ensuring that Temple can attract new nurses and retain their experienced staff. TAP also won historic gains in wages and compensation, reduction of mandatory overtime, and the same language TUHNA did on workplace violence.

See pages 3–4 for more details.

See Page 3 For More Info.

In union, there is strength! Cassie Wood, President of ACMH Nurses United, and Cris Scott, President of ACMH Techs United.

Message from PASNAP President Maureen May, RN

Dear PASNAP family,

Last year, as I wrote my message to you, the first case of the Omicron variant in the U.S. had been identified just a month prior, and the PA Department of Health had announced a surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations across the Commonwealth. Then, the nearly 2-yearold pandemic was still very much with us in a way that now is thankfully no longer the case.

COVID-19 hasn’t disappeared, of course. And, yes, the crisis in our hospital continues. But I see so many reasons for hope in our hospitals and in our union as we look back to 2022 and forward to 2023.

In the last year, we won truly momentous victories for our patients and for each other. At ACMH in Western Pennsylvania (opposite) and at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia (see pages 4 and 5), nurses, professionals, and technical specialists came together to force their hospitals to do right by their patients and their caregivers. You needn’t look any farther than the photo on the cover of this

Critical Update of ACMH Nurses United President Cassie Wood and ACMH Techs United President Cris Scott highfiving each other to understand that our strength really comes from our solidarity.

In Scranton, 450 professionals and technical specialists at Geisinger Community Medical Center didn’t have to look far to be aware of the benefits of unionization—the GCMC nurses they work alongside have made big workplace and patient care gains in their contracts. The pros and the techs began organizing, and in December, they voted “yes!” to unionize with PASNAP in two landslide votes. Check out page 12 for more information on their wins.

These three wins, just a few from 2022, highlight the importance of our strength and solidarity as a union.

In healthcare, we are taught to put our patients first, always. But in order to be able to advocate for our patients in the loudest voice possible, we need to stay strong and stay together. Our solidarity— between nurses and allied professionals, across eastern and western Pennsylvania—

is our most valuable resource as a union, because it’s through our solidarity that we can continue to make a difference for our patients and our professions in the years to come. But it isn’t the only one.

You needn’t look any farther than the photo on the cover of this Critical Update of ACMH Nurses United President Cassie Wood and ACMH Techs United President Cris Scott high-fiving each other to understand that our strength really comes from our solidarity.

The theme of this year’s House of Delegates (don’t miss it! see page 8 for more details and to sign up!), where we as a union come together every year to celebrate our solidarity, is “Building For Our Future: Ready, Set, Grow!” (thank you, PASNAP Executive Board member Shirley Crowell for the excellent wordsmithing!). One of the ways in which we need to build for our future at PASNAP is to grow our financial resources. It has become very clear that our current resource base doesn’t give us what we need to meet the challenges of the day in 2023, fighting huge healthcare conglomerates tooth and nail for every win, and to keep moving forward, together. To read more about our plans for the future and for building our financial strength as a union, turn to page 8.

In the meantime, PASNAP family, accept this virtual high-five from me!

In solidarity and with tremendous appreciation for all you do,

Maureen May, RN PASNAP President

ACMH Nurses’ Strike, March 2022

ACMH RNs and Techs Win Big—TOGETHER

ACMH’s 220 nurses braved tundra-like conditions (and the withering disdain of hospital CEO John Lewis) during a fiveday strike in March to highlight crippling staffing issues at the hospital that were affecting morale, nurse retention, and quality of care. But it wasn’t until ACMH’s techs, close to 100-strong with staffing concerns of their own, began to bargain their own contract that spring and stood in solidarity with the nurses that negotiations began to inch forward throughout the summer.

In late August, they won excellent 3-year contracts—with common expiration dates together! The new contracts include critical staffing improvements:

• Stipulating that the hospital will dedicate almost a half-million dollars in additional nurse staffing to help with patient care and minimize nurse reassignment.

• Including, for the first time, enforceable staffing language in the Techs’ and LPNs’ contract to ensure successful recruitment and retention.

“Bringing our unions together on behalf of our professions, our patients, and quality of care at ACMH really helped us to change the dynamic at the bargaining table,” says Cassie Wood, RN, President of ACMH Nurses United.

“We were able to speak with a much

larger voice, and management was committed to listening.”

“Our new contract includes staffing language that holds management accountable to maintaining current staffing guidelines, which was unheard of for us in the past,” says Cris Scott, MLT(ASCP), President of ACMH Techs United. “It’s a major win for techs and for our patients, and I believe it will help the hospital recruit more techs going forward. It’s win-win-win!”

Deep Dives into the New TUHNA and

At the core of TUHNA’s and TAP’s contract campaigns, which spanned more than three months and involved a strike authorization vote, an informational picket attended by then U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman and then candidate for PA Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis in addition to a host of local elected officials, and an in-your-face, highly covered-by-the-press rally at the Pennsylvania Convention Center during the ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center) National Magnet Conference in October, were critical quality of care issues like safe staffing, recruitment and retention of caregivers, workplace violence prevention, and resources and protections for caregivers.

TUHNA Won Game-Changing Staffing Language in the Contract

TUHNA won enforceable staffing grids in their last contract. But those grids were grids management came up with, they were only referenced in the contract, not included in it, and management had the ability to change them. This time, we actually negotiated over the grids ourselves and made significant

improvements to them. And management can’t change them.

The new staffing guidelines must be posted on all units, and the hospital agrees to supplement and/or hire nursing staff in all units and for all shifts to meet the unit’s staffing guidelines, which take

into account acuity, projected admissions over the course of a shift, and adequate coverage for breaks and lunch. If the hospital falls below the census-based guidelines, it will immediately post the additional shift/s needed to meet the posted guideline at the highest level of incentive. A Staffing and Scheduling

Delivering a Unity Petition en masse!

TAP Contracts

Committee, which will include representatives from every unit, will meet monthly to address issues and make recommendations to the hospital about staffing, technology, training, equipment, and supplies.

The contract also includes:

• New safety and security measures, including stronger language on protections from workplace violence, including thefts and vandalism on hospital property; a commitment to install weapons detectors and station security at every entrance 24/7; and a newly created system for follow-up and debrief on incidents of workplace violence.

• Wages that make Temple nurses the highest paid statewide and give them the highest pay scales in any union contract in Pennsylvania, ensuring that Temple can attract new nurses and retain their experienced staff.

“This fight was always about our community—our TUH caregiver community and our patient community,” says ICU nurse Mary Adamson, RN, President of TUHNA. “This contract, with its new staffing language and the seat at the table it provides us in creating policies to report and prevent workplace violence, is absolutely game changing. It is a transformational win.”

TAP Won Long Overdue Respect for the Front Line

TAP’s new contract includes historic gains in wages and compensation, long overdue for frontline caregivers who brought their facility through the worst of the pandemic and whose pay had fallen well below market value. In addition, the new contract:

• Reduces mandatory overtime, a huge issue that had led to burnout, fatigue and, ultimately critical problems with retention.

• Requires Temple to provide a safe work environment, protecting staff from workplace violence. Mirroring the language in TUHNA’s contract, the TAP contract includes new safety and security measures, including stronger language on protections from workplace violence, including thefts and vandalism on hospital property; a commitment to install weapons detectors and station security at every entrance 24/7; and a newly created system for follow-up and debrief on incidents of workplace violence.

“Temple caregivers are the hospital’s greatest asset,” says Carlos Aviles, CPhT, a Certified Pharmacy Technician and President of Temple Allied Professionals. “In this contract, the work we do—the work we risked our lives to do over the last two and a half years—is further respected, further valued. And that means we can stop bleeding experienced staff and keep our caregivers right here in North Philadelphia.”

PASNAP HOUSE OF DELEGATES 2023

Sunday, April 30–Tuesday, May 2 Eden Resort and Suites, Lancaster, PA

Building for Our Future: READY, SET, GROW! BE SURE TO REGISTER!

Every year, our union comes together at our House of Delegates meeting to strategize ways to build a more powerful, engaged, and active union. This year, three years into a pandemic that has precipitated both the hemorrhaging of caregivers from the bedside and the further consolidation and hardening of the healthcare industry, our theme—“Building for Our Future: Ready, Set, Grow!”—reflects our relentlessly forward-facing focus.

The bigger we are and the louder our collective voice, the greater our power to affect change for ourselves and our patients.

In addition to learning how to strengthen our ability to win excellent contracts with safe staffing, solid wage increases, better working conditions and protections for caregivers, and no healthcare give-backs, we’ll learn about the history of unions, how we’re fighting hospital closures, and the importance of building political teams at every local.

PLUS: Some HOD 2022 faves are returning! Nurse Attorney Edie Brous will be back to lead an important, topical and what will surely be engrossing discussion about criminal charges against healthcare workers. Art therapist Stephanie Wise will once again lead “Art Therapy for Healthcare Workers” workshops. And Lauren Herrschaft will return to lead guided yoga and meditation classes.

REGISTRATION COMING SOON. Check

www.pasnap.com

And contact your local board if you’re interested in running for a delegate position.

2023 Consent to Serve on PASNAP Executive Board

There are 11 PASNAP Executive Board positions up for re-election at this year’s House of Delegates: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 7 At Large Members with 1- and 2-year terms.

By completing and returning this form, you are expressing your interest in filling one of these positions and consent to serve in that position for the appropriate term if elected by voting delegates.

I, ___________________________________________________________ (print name), consent to serve as:

n President n Vice President n Secretary n Treasurer n At Large Member

Signature __________________________________________________ Date _______________________

Executive Board Consent to Serve forms are due to the PASNAP office by April 2; no forms will be accepted after that date. Forms can be mailed to PASNAP, 3031 Walton Road, Suite C-104, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-2326; scanned and emailed to hilary@pasnap.com; or faxed to the attention of Hilary Williams at (610) 567-2915. PLEASE follow up with an email to hilary@pasnap.com to alert us that your form has been submitted and to confirm its receipt.

PASNAP 2023: GROWING OUR RESOURCES, GROWING

The PASNAP Executive Board recently completed a comprehensive five year strategic planning process. We analyzed where we are as a Union, where we want to go, and what we need to get there. We are all very proud of the Union we have become, but in order to make sure we can continue to grow as a Union and to meet our ambitious goals moving forward, we need to grow our resources. That’s why we are proposing a statewide dues adjustment.

We’ve done a great job so far as a Union. Since 2000, when PASNAP formed, we’ve grown from 3,500 to 9,000 members, organizing more than 5,000 new frontline healthcare professionals across the state. We’ve won great contracts and raised standards. We’ve helped pass legislation to ban Mandatory Overtime and to protect our members during the COVID epidemic.

But as we’ve grown bigger, our employers have too, and our fights have become harder. The healthcare industry is consolidating into larger and larger systems, and becoming more and more profit-driven. Bosses are becoming more aggressive, fighting us at every turn. They are putting more money into anti-union consultants during organizing drives, taking a more aggressive posture in negotiations, and refusing to resolve issues without going to arbitration. Contract campaigns are taking longer, requiring more preparation, staff support, and public actions (like pickets) to win.

Plus, there’s still a lot that we need to accomplish. We need to:

• Keep pushing to win Safe Staffing and more robust workplace violence protections while we continue to raise and defend contract standards on these issues.

• Develop a statewide strategy to address recruitment and retention of staff.

• Continue to organize and grow within each of our hospitals, within our health systems, and around the state to ensure that we have the power to take on our ever larger employers.

• Increase the number and breadth of our no-cost CE offerings for healthcare workers.

• Develop and expand an associate member and retiree program for nurses and allied professionals not presently employed in an organized hospital as a base of public support and new organizing.

“The RNs at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton are thrilled to be welcoming 450 new members—Techs, Pros, PAs, and NPs—into our union! We’ll be going into bargaining this year nearly double in size and strength. We’re proud to be part of a union that fights to organize and fights to win great contracts. We know these organizing drives take resources, and we’re fully behind the dues increase to make sure we can keep doing this at every hospital, in every system across the state.”

JEN HUBER, RN, President, NEPANA (at Geisinger Community Medical Center)

In order to continue to protect our rights, we are having to file more arbitrations and Labor Board litigation as well as systematically identifying and engaging new members and creating awareness with the public, and local, state, and national political leaders even as many of our standard operating costs are going up. Everything from printing to meeting space, computers, phones, food, and our annual conference is costing more every year.

• Expand our statewide and local newsletters, sharing information between locals to build our members’ understanding of and support for PASNAP as a whole, and how a victory for one can become a victory for all.

• Increase regional meetings, trainings, and workshops for local leaders

• Develop community outreach plans that educate the public on who we are and provide support to our communities, especially when they are fighting for access to healthcare.

• Continue and expand our apprenticeship program to train members to be organizers and staff representatives.

be the nurturers of healthcare in our communities.”

“The PASNAP dues increase is necessary to ensure we continue to succeed in the legal battles against corporate organizations pretending to

—SELENA HODGE, MT, BSHA/BSHM, Political and Community Engagement Chair, Temple Allied Professionals, and PASNAP Executive Board Member at Large

GROWING OUR POWER—A STATEWIDE DUES ADJUSTMENT

All of this takes resources. And it has become clear that our current resource base doesn’t give us what we need to keep moving forward. We need the financial resources to make sure we can meet the challenges of the day and accomplish our goals going forward. There’s no such thing as standing still.

Current PASNAP Dues Structure

• 1% gross pay capped at $71.00 for RN per month (on average)

• 1% gross pay capped at $55.00 for Pros and Techs per month (on average)

At 1% with an annual cap, PASNAP dues are among the lowest of any healthcare union. Throughout our history, we’ve not only been one of the more aggressive unions in the country, but we’ve also been one of the most efficient—we’ve done more with less. Our last adjustment in dues occurred 10 years ago.

The adjustment we are proposing will make our structure more fair. All members would eventually pay the same percentage. At the same time, it will put us in a solid position in terms of our resources for the foreseeable future.

PASNAP Executive Board

Resolution for a Statewide Dues Adjustment:

“Butler has been part of PASNAP for about 20 years. In that time, we have had some of the best contracts ever—in fact, we’ve set standards for the Western part of PA. But for us to be able to achieve more, PASNAP needs to grow in the west, and raising the dues to 1.2% will provide resources that will enable us to do that by organizing more facilities. Eventually lifting the cap will ensure that all members are at the same percentage level. PASNAP will continue to function with the lowest dues rates compared to other unions, but that extra 0.2% will give us the resources we need for growth!”

—TAMMY MAY, RN, President, Pennsylvania Independent Nurses (at Butler Memorial Hospital) and PASNAP Executive Board Member at Large

“As we reflect on the 20+ years of PASNAP, the continued work that has been done, the dues increase is what is needed. This is about the power of PASNAP. This is about the building and the continuation of this strong Union. Our proposal phases in the increases to the cap over a number of years so that no one will see too large of an increase at any one time.”

—PHYLLIS BROWN, RN, TUHNA Member at Large and PASNAP Executive Board Member at Large

We are therefore proposing a dues increase of 0.2% (an increase of 2/10ths of a percent, moving from current 1% to 1.2%) with the monthly cap increasing for RNs by a maximum of $14 per month in July 2023, then increasing by a maximum $20 each year for 2 years, then a similar increase in 2027, and finally eliminating the cap in 2029. For Allied Professionals, the monthly cap would increase by a maximum of $11 in July 2023, then increase by a maximum of $15 each year for 2 years, then a similar increase in 2027, and finally eliminating the cap in 2029. Once the cap is eliminated, all union members would pay the same 1.2%.

This proposal will be discussed at membership meetings at every local over the next month, and then voted on at our yearly statewide House of Delegates convention. If approved, it would go into effect on July 1st of this year, 2023.

“We are only as strong as the organization that supports us. If we don’t invest in PASNAP, PASNAP won’t be able to run with the efficiency and success we have come to expect and rely on. An investment in PASNAP is an investment in ourselves.”

—SHANNAN GIAMBRONE, RN, President, Suburban General Nurses’ Association and PASNAP Executive Board Secretary

PASNAP in the House!

The gains we made in Harrisburg in 2022—the electoral changes that made a shift in our prospects possible— were a testament to the many hours we invested in screening candidates, in lobbying for our bills in Harrisburg, and in phone-banking and door-knocking to get out the vote. But now’s not the time to rest on our laurels—not when we’re so close. We have to continue to lobby hard to get our bills to a vote.

Check your email, texts, social media, and PASNAP PULSE (our new e-newsletter) for news on all the ways you can make your voice heard— including by attending a springtime Lobby Day! IT’S LIKELY TO BE TUESDAY, MAY 9TH. SAVE THE DATE!

Become a Political and Community Outreach Chair!

As momentum continues to build toward legislative movement in Harrisburg, we need your activism and enthusiasm! If you’re interested in becoming a Political and Community Outreach Chairperson (PCOC) at your local, please contact your local president to let them know. The PCOC is a leadership role where you would lead engagement with elected officials and community members on behalf of your local and build strong alliances and support outside the hospital and broader community. It’s a lot of fun, and you can make a huge difference for your colleagues and your patients.

Safe Staffing May Be In Our Sights

The winds in Harrisburg are definitely shifting. And while the dust from November’s general election hadn’t yet settled as we went to print (three open House seats in Western PA were to be decided in special elections on February 7th), we appear to have a unique opportunity—created by a Democratic majority in the House (those three seats will decide the leadership of the House) along with staunch PASNAP allies in Governor Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis—to push the Patient Safety Act and all it promises for patients across PA farther than we ever have before.

Buckle up, everyone—it’s going to be exciting!

Where we are now: January marked the start of a new year and a new legislative session, which means all proposed legislation that didn’t pass in the previous session has to start over from scratch, collecting Cosponsors anew. The Patient Safety Act is no exception.

By setting minimum safe-staffing guidelines based on patient acuity in all Pennsylvania hospitals, the Patient Safety Act would address the biggest problem we face at work (chronic,

dangerous short staffing) and improve patient care in every hospital in the state. In the previous legislative session, the bipartisan bill had an unprecedented 107 cosponsors in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives—that’s a majority of House members as cosponsors. But state Rep. Kathy Rapp, then chair of the House Health Committee, devoted friend of HAP (the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania), and, coincidentally, the representative for Warren General Hospital and our nurses and healthcare pros there, refused to allow the bill a vote, so it remained mired in her committee. This year, that may change: Pending the results of the February 7th special elections, Rep. Rapp and others who have been obstructing the bill may no longer be able to block it from progressing to the House Floor and a vote there.

BONUS: The same beneficial shift in dynamics should help our workplace violence bill, too.

We still have a long journey ahead of us, and it will still take a lot of work to get our safe staffing bill and our workplace violence bill over the finish line in the House and through the Senate. But the potential for both has never been greater. Let’s bring the patented PASNAP fight and capitalize on that!

State Rep. Ed Neilson with PASNAP members.

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE UNION

Bernie Brings the Fight to Philly

DCMH: Doors Shut, Delco Short-Changed

Prospect Medical Holdings, the for-profit, California-based owner of the Crozer Health System, brazenly prioritized profit over patient care in 2022, stripping critical services from its four-hospital system. DCMH—Delaware County Memorial Hospital—bore the brunt of Prospect’s cuts, losing its maternal health unit, ICU, and operating rooms throughout the year before being shuttered completely last fall, further taxing a dense, medically needy community that had already suffered greatly during the pandemic and the dedicated nurses and allied professionals who were the face of care there.

We fought hard to keep the hospital open. We held two rallies in May, and worked relentlessly over many months to inform the community, the press, and the elected officials in the area about Prospect’s plans

and immoral priorities. We spoke out when the Delaware County Foundation and the Delaware County Council jointly filed a petition with the courts to ask for an emergency injunction to stop the closure of the hospital. And we participated in a hard-hitting CBS News investigative story on Prospect Medical and its profitsbefore-patients approach in Pennsylvania and across the nation. Former DCMH Nurses Association President and PASNAP Executive Board Member Angela Neopolitano set the tone of the piece with the devastating opening quote: “What they’ve done is extremely evil.”

While we ultimately weren’t able to stop the closure of the once 133-bed hospital, we brought the good fight, the PASNAP fight—for our patients, for the surrounding community, and for access to health care.

In the intense run-up to the election late last summer, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders came to Independence Hall in Philadelphia to rally with the labor city’s union leaders—including TUHNA President Mary Adamson, St. Christopher’s Nurses United President Sue Swift, and a big PASNAP contingent—to support workers demanding better pay and working conditions. “The time is now,” he said, “for working people to stand up, organize, fight for their rights, and take on very powerful special interests who think this country belongs just to them!”

Less Licensing Red Tape in PA

In late January, just as we went to press, PASNAP President Maureen May joined Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis at the Pennsylvania Capitol as the new administration announced their third executive order, this one guaranteeing transparency, dramatically shorter wait times, and a lot less bureaucratic red tape for folks—including nurses and allied professionals—applying for licenses through the state. PASNAP President Maureen May spoke on behalf of frontline healthcare workers statewide.

pennanurses

By law, the Union is required to furnish the following information annually. If you have questions, please call (610) 567-2907.

PASNAP, like other unions, spends the vast majority of its funds on collective-bargaining related activities as well as some amounts for political lobbying, community services, charitable donations, publications, certain litigation and other matters. As an employee represented by PASNAP and covered by a contract containing a union security or agency fee clause, you are required as a condition of employment to pay dues or an agency fee to the Union. Employees who are members of PASNAP enjoy all the rights and privileges of union membership including attending union meetings, voting to ratify contracts, running for union office, voting for union officers, and participating in certain union benefit programs that are provided only to union members.

Employees may choose not to be members of the Union. Employees who are not members of the union pay dues or agency fees, but they do not enjoy any of the rights and privileges of membership. Non-member employees may be “Beck Objectors” and may request an adjustment to their dues based on their objection to the Union expenditures that they believe are not reasonably related to representational activities including collective bargaining, contract negotiations, and grievance adjustment and related activities. Nonmembers who choose to object should request an adjustment to their dues. Such a request must be in writing, and it must include the employee’s full name, address, social security number, current wage rate, and employer. Such a request must be sent to PASNAP, 3031 Walton Road, Suite C-104, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-2326. Such a request is valid until withdrawn by the employee.

Non-members who submit an objection will receive information regarding how the union calculates representational expenditures and have their dues reduced to reflect the percentage of non-representational expenditures from the previous fiscal year which covers the period of July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022. This reduction in dues will commence on the first day of the month following the receipt of the objection. Beck objectors will be required to pay 85% of union dues.

Non-members objectors have the right to challenge the union’s calculations of representational expenditure before an impartial arbitrator on an annual basis pursuant to the American Arbitration Association’s Rules for Impartial Determination of Union fees. Such challenges must be made in writing, explain the basis for the challenge, and be received by the Union at the above address within 30 days of the employees receiving the calculation information. If more than one member challenges the calculations, the challenges will be consolidated for hearing. The decision of the impartial arbitrator will be final and binding. PASNAP will pay the cost of arbitration. Challengers must bear all other costs in connection with presenting their appeal, such as travel, witness fees, lost time, representation, etc.

Geisinger CMC Techs and Pros Vote YES to Unionize!

In two separate votes in December, 410 professionals and technical specialists at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton endured the hospital’s heavily funded anti-union campaign (which included illegally withheld pay raises) to join their GCMC nurse colleagues and vote overwhelmingly to unionize with PASNAP. We now represent more than 800 frontline caregivers at GCMC!

“After 18 years of working in hospitals, I understand how they operate,” said Lori Horchos, an OR Surgical Tech. “The people making decisions aren’t anyone you see in the halls. They’re the people who want to get rid of our extended paid time off. They’re the people who put profits first and want to save money by understaffing. But healthcare isn’t like every other big business—it’s exceptional, like my colleagues here at CMC. I voted yes because I want to make sure we continue to be treated fairly, are rewarded accordingly, and that we have a strong voice to advocate for our patients and ourselves.”

In October, the GCMC pros and techs informed the hospital that they were forming a union, and in December—just in time for the holidays—they got one! Welcome to the table, GCMC pros and techs!

BARGAINING UPDATES

Temple North CRNAs Unanimously Ratify Their First Contract!

On January 9th, 35 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), who practice under the sprawling Temple Health System umbrella at Jeanes Hospital and Fox Chase Cancer Center, voted unanimously to ratify a first contract in which there wasn’t a single concession from the terms of their employment prior to the contract—everything either stayed the same and is enshrined in the contract or the CRNAs made gains. Their new four-year contract includes:

• A wage scale that values experience, reflecting years of experience as a CRNA. The new pay scale, which includes premium pay, salary, and per diem rate increases, will help Temple North recruit and retain CRNAs.

• Improvements to leaves of absence—like their colleagues at the main hospital, the Temple North CRNAs now have one week of fully paid parental leave.

• Current scheduling practices are now enshrined in the contract and therefore protected.

“When anesthesia care for Fox Chase and Jeanes Hospital fully merged, TUH administration was less than transparent,” said Bernadette Golarz, DNP, CRNA, a leader in the effort to organize. “People felt disrespected and were very unhappy. Administration said, “Like it or leave it,” and many CRNAs did leave. But we chose a different path—we chose to stay

BARGAINING NOW

and formed a union to have a seat at the table to try to improve working conditions at Temple North and increase CRNA retention. It’s been a long road, and we did the hard thing, standing up for ourselves and our profession, but it was the right thing—not just for ourselves but for our patients as well.”

The Temple North Anesthesia Coalition (T-NAC) CRNAs are the newest PASNAP members at Temple University Hospital’s “North” campus. They join the 360-plus nurses at Jeanes and the 2,250 nurses and allied professionals at Temple Main who are also represented by PASNAP.

Wills Eye Nurses & Techs United Contract expired January 31, 2023

Wills Eye Nurses & Techs United—103 members strong—began negotiating on December 1st. At the core of their negotiations are quality of care issues like unsafe staffing (staffing levels are inconsistent during the day but always inadequate at night), workplace violence prevention (low staffing numbers contribute to members feeling unprotected by administration), resources for caregivers (members lost a year of their contractually guaranteed defined retirement contribution of 2.25% during the pandemic, and management has refused to pay back contributions or to increase the defined contribution), and poor retention (retention is low due to all of the above as well as low wages for experienced caregivers).

BARGAINING UPDATES

BARGAINING NOW

Brooke Glen Nurses Association

Contract expired January 31, 2023

As we went to press, the Brooke Glen RNs—59 members strong— had just begun negotiating a new contract. Core issues include staffing (they have no staffing ratios/grids in their current contract and as a result, nurses can and often do receive unsafe assignments), wages tied to retention, and respect (the management rights clause in their current contract is exhaustive, leading to distrust between members and management, low morale, and poor retention).

Einstein Nurses United Contract expires April 30, 2023

As we went to press, nearly 1,000 Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia-Jefferson nurses were prepping to begin negotiations with a new boss (Jefferson, a Philly healthcare behemoth) for a new contract. At the core of their campaign will be quality of care issues like safe staffing (staff vacancy rates are dangerously high), recruitment and retention (wages have fallen behind, and Einstein is losing nurses to neighboring hospitals like Temple and Penn; short-staffing in many units results in the need for RNs to work more shifts than ever, leading to intense fatigue, burnout, mental distress, and more and more staff leaving the hospital), workplace violence prevention, and resources and protections for caregivers.

Fair Acres Nurses Association

Contract Expires July 1, 2023

Healthcare is the central issue for these RNs—118 strong. They currently have a zero-cost healthcare plan, and Fair Acres administration wants the nurses to begin paying for it. It’s going to be a fight. But watch out: The Fair Acres Nurses Association has a 92% win rate for grievances. We’re ready.

PASNAP EXECUTIVE BOARD

We’re proud that our union is run by dedicated nurses and healthcare workers elected by their peers. These leaders from across the state define our vision, set our priorities, and work to advance the best interests of all healthcare workers

patients. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any question or concern.

OFFICERS

BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE

Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals

and

MAUREEN MAY President Temple University Hospital Nurses Association

PATRICK KELLY Vice President Einstein Nurses United

STANLEY WIELGOPOLSKI Treasurer Wyoming Valley Nurses Association (at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital)

SHANNAN GIAMBRONE Secretary Suburban General Nurses’ Association

CARLOS AVILES Temple Allied Professionals

SELENA HODGE Temple Allied Professionals

ANGELA NEOPOLITANO Crozer-Chester Nurses Association

PHYLLIS BROWN Temple University Hospital Nurses Association

CARLA LE’COIN Einstein Nurses United

TAMMY MAY Pennsylvania Independent Nurses (at Butler Memorial Hospital)

SHIRLEY CROWELL Nurses Association of Lower Bucks Hospital

PEGGY MALONE Crozer-Chester Nurses Association

JACKIE XIMINES Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital Nurses Association

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Address Service Requested

Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-2326

3031 Walton Road, Suite C-104