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 be the nurturers of healthcare in our communities.”

• 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.