Why Me

Okay, so, why vote for me. Simple question. Maybe simple answer. Probably not though. So, let me share some ideas I would like to actualize for WSNA.

1. Hiring Hall.

The hiring hall is an old concept for unions, but a new one for nurses unions. Effectively, members of the union (and non-members) are employees of the union itself. It's not dissimilar to the staffing agency model we've seen with travel agencies. The union holds the contract. Nurses who need work can go to the hiring hall and pick up available work in whatever WSNA represented facility needs employees and which catches their eye. If done correctly we could leverage this to increase wages by undercutting travel wages while also negotiating for more than staff wages, with WSNA taking only $5hr off the top. Unlike the 2/3 of the negotiated wages the travel agencies take. The nice thing about this is that a union is a non-profit and therefore whatever comes from the $5hr has to be put back into the organization for our benefit. And what does that look like?

Pensions. Insurance. Education. None of which would be controlled by the hospitals. And the hospitals are likely to go for it both because they have a higher chance of getting the staff they need and because the cost of benefits would no longer be their problem.

Later they might realize that this would effectively make all of their nurses contractors and they couldn't hold us hostage by our benefits. Later, they would realize that we would have more power to ensure they meet the standards of improved working conditions. But that, too, would be their problem and not our own.

It sounds far fetched but this is something being looked into by nursing unions at this time and I have spent the last two years pushing to get it developed. As Chair of EG&W I would have a greater chance of doing so.

2. Ownership of Our Profession

This is really a continuation of the first item. Let's do some quick math. say we represent 15,ooo nurses (random number). Say we take $5 for each hour they work on a 12 hr shift. For one nurse and one 12hr shift that is $60.00. For 15,000 nurses that's $900,000.00. For one shift. And that's 2.7 million for a full three day rotation. That's a lot of Benjamins that have to be put back into our member owned, non-profit, professional labor organization. I talked above about pensions and benefits. One of those benefits is education. When I say education I mean all of it. I mean mean taking those funds to help nurses get certifications, to attend conferences. I mean helping an LPN prep to take the NCLEX and training CNAs. To finally take control of our profession from it's entry level (CNA) all the way to it's highest PHD.

We shouldn't be depending on our employers to further our education and our career. We shouldn't be allowing them to direct the path of our education and certifications to their benefit. By increasing the revenue available to WSNA we can have a never before seen opportunity to finally make nursing a truly independent profession. By nurses, for nurses.

This is something I see benefitting not only those who are members through a collective bargaining unit (union) but professional members as well. We need to bring value to the membership of those not covered by a union and I see this as a first step in doing so. What is good for one nurse, is good for all nurses.

3. Service Vs Organizing

There are two models of unions. In the Service model, the union itself runs the show. The union, in the form of its employees, organizes new units, argues on behalf of the members, determines the issues to argue for at higher levels. It's a top down model where the members pay their dues and are largely hands off.

I like to refer to the other model, the Organizing model, as similar to shared governance. In this model everything comes from the ground up. The members drive the union, make its decisions, determine its priorities and how to achieve them. It's harder for the members, because it requires a whole lot more involvement than the Service model. It's probably messier too, which is why so many unions moved away from it over the decades. But you know what else it is? More effective. More satisfying. More democratic.

As Chair of EG&W I will work tirelessly to complete the move of WSNA from the Service model to the Organizing model, returning the will and the voice of the membership to the drivers seat of our union. This is our union, after all. It exists because we have chosen to exchange hours of our lives in the form of union dues for the benefits it provides us. If we don't like how the union is choosing to manifest itself, if we disagree with its decisions and feel powerless to change these things somethings gone horribly wrong. The Organizing model restores our ability to determine the course we take as an organization and it's past time for that to have occurred.

4. Organizing

There are a whole lot of nurses in Washington state and a fair number of them are not represented by anyone. Now, I'm a unionist to my core and I don't care what union you join so long as you have a union. However, I think healthcare workers are in a difficult position because the healthcare system and the rules that govern it are so convoluted. SEIU is a great union, do they know anything about nursing or healthcare?

I truly believe that healthcare workers are best served by those who understand the systems we work in and I am stupidly passionate about workers rights. As Chair of EG&W I would make it my mission to begin outreach to hospitals without representation, providing resources and education to those working there. Even when we disagree we all have the same rights and those rights need to be respected. In the fight to make sure that happens every voice is needed. The more members we have the greater influence we have on those who make the laws that govern our profession. The more opportunities we have to educate the public on the issues facing healthcare.

There is, and always has been, strength in numbers. It's time to utilize that and that starts with increasing our numbers. It breaks my heart to see what's happening to the nurses at my own facility and it never feels like anyone is listening. with enough voices we'll be too loud to ignore.

5. Community

Community can look very different to each of us, as I think it probably should. While I am passionate about engaging the public and the communities we all live in, in this instance I am speaking of the union community.

There are so many unions out there. Sure, we've all heard of UFCW4000 and SEIU. What about the carpenters, the electricians? The firefighters, the teachers? The state employees and the retired state employees? All of these groups have unions and all of them have spent decades working together to support one another. We need to reach out to them and accept the help they are willing to offer, the knowledge they are willing to share. Two hundred nurses on an informational picket is one thing. Two hundred nurses backed up by firefighters, teachers, members of the various trades, and state workers is another thing altogether. And we can't pretend their issues do not intersect with our own.

UFCW400o recently brought to our attention a grocery store merger. What does that have to do with us? Well, this merger would mean that all of the major grocery stores would be serviced from the same warehouse. This would affect the costs of food and daily living supplies, a shortage for one store would be a shortage for all stores. And who suffers when food and household goods go up in price or are unavailable? The people we take care of . If someone has to choose between feeding their family and paying for their medication, the short term decision is to feed their family. And when they end up in the hospital because they couldn't afford their medications we probably won't think about the greater economic factors that landed them there. Working with other unions gives us the opportunity to advocate for our patients in ways that may prevent them from becoming our patients at all. Wouldn't that be nice?

As Chair of EG&W I would make it my goal to build relationships with the greater labor community, something I believe we've been absent from for far too long. They want to help us. Isn't it about time that we let them.

6. Our Rights

We don't know what we don't know and it's past time that we be educated on labor laws at both the state and federal level. As Chair of EG&W I would push for expanded education for all officers and representatives. We have to know our rights to fight for them and I myself have been considerably frustrated by the piecemeal manner in which I have been able to obtain education on these issues. Every member of WSNA should have access to education on these topics and every member willing to serve should be provided a through and well rounded education to better serve those they represent.