Meet Cheryl Ziegler who has worked at Kaiser (formerly Group Health) since 1978, has been a shop steward since 1982, and has served on multiple bargaining and labor committees since 1987.
Read MoreContract Specialist – one year term
Alliance Partnership Representative (APR) – three year term
Both positions offer great opportunity to learn new skills and spend time doing meaningful work that has a direct impact on Kaiser workplaces.
If selected, you will be released from your current role. In your new role, you will continue to receive the same pay, benefits and seniority accrual, returning to your position after your contractual term.
APR JOB DESCRIPTION: Download job description here.
To Apply: please email resume with KPWA APR Position in the subject line to: cmacphail@ufcw3000.org, lvanwormer@ufcw3000.org, betelhem.michael@ahcunions.org, becky.t.peterson@kp.org
CONTRACT SPECIALIST JOB DESCIPTION: Download job description here.
To apply: Please fill out CONTRACT SPECIALIST Application here
Click HERE for the KP Alliance Job Description >>
We have been so fortunate to have worked with Ralph Stumbo in his capacity of Alliance Partnership Representative over the last three years.
Ralph has brought a caring spirit, and an extensive understanding of Group Health and Kaiser Permanente processes to this position.
He assisted thousands of members in understanding the intent of the language in the contract,
served on both the Local Bargaining Committee and the National Bargaining Committee for many contracts,
served in PSP negotiations,
provided training and done many presentations,
helped launch UBT’s throughout the region,
performed Path to Performance evaluations,
helped implement various initiatives in the National Agreement,
and continues to serve on countless committees.
Ralph has fulfilled his commitment of three years as APR and will be moving back into his former position as Respiratory Therapist and Pulmonary Function Technician (dual credentials).
The Alliance Partnership Representative position is now open for all UFCW 3000 KP members. See above for the link to the job description and exciting opportunity to work closely with the National Alliance and KPWA developing and training UBT’s.
Applications must be received no later than end of day Sunday, June 12.
After several months of bargaining with Kaiser Permanente, union members are still waiting for management to recognize the extreme working conditions and sub-optimal staffing they are continuing to experience during an ongoing international pandemic. Kaiser seems unwilling to acknowledge that workers have stepped up and provided the best care without missing a beat.
Furthermore, management continues to insist that KPWA employees are already receiving above average wages. During recent local bargaining, management was condescending and short tempered with our bargaining team, who have been working diligently to provide contract language that is respectful of workers and their families. But management is looking for takeaways. Join us to show Kaiser what Solidarity looks like—all workers, patients, and community standing together for Staffing and Retention.
INFORMATIONAL PICKETING (Pro-Tech Optical ONLY)
Wednesday, November 3
11:30AM – 1:30PM
Bellevue Medical Center
11511 NE 10th St, Bellevue, WA 98004
Central Campus (Capitol Hill)
201 16th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
Tacoma Medical Center
209 M.L.K. Jr. Way, Tacoma, WA 98405
Silverdale Medical Center (Leafleting only)
10452 Silverdale Way NW, Silverdale, WA 98383
Wear Solidarity Stickers if you work in another Clinic, work in Pharmacy, or another Union!
Pharmacy Members cannot participate in picketing due to local contract expiring 7/31/22.
Spokane Pharmacy Techs will be wearing Solidarity Stickers.
Pro-Tech Optical members may join informational picketing on lunch, break, or before/after work. Everyone’s friends and family can attend−all are welcome! Please help share widely.
Hold the Date! UFCW 21 Kaiser Telephone Town Hall on Monday, November 1. You will receive a phone call at 7:30PM—just pick up to join!
Kaiser UFCW21 members will discuss our rights to join informational picketing and wear solidarity stickers, share bargaining updates, and answer questions. You may update your contact information online.
National Bargaining Update
Last week, three of the Alliance’s largest unions−UNAC/UHCP, United Steelworkers Local 7600, and OFNHP−AFT Local 5017 −announced that over 95% of each union’s members voted to authorize a strike. This week, two more locals announced their members also voted overwhelmingly to authorize strikes−Unite Here! Local 5 in Hawaii, and UFCW Locals in SCAL. Collectively, these five unions represent 36,000 Alliance members eligible to strike now with more locals voting soon. We are united to win for our patients, our communities, and each other! #BestJobsBestCare #safestaffingsaveslives
Learn about your rights to Informational Picket, ask questions, and help coworkers organize a successful action. Join us for the next Contract Action Team meeting!
Wednesday, October 27 • 6:00 PM
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.
For questions or for more information, please contact your Union Steward or Union Representative Rhonda Fisher-Ivie at 206-436-6584.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 BARGAINING UPDATE
After months of stalling by KP negotiators, scheduled national bargaining sessions ended today. “Because of management’s approach, these negotiations are in serious trouble – unlike anything our Alliance unions have experienced with Kaiser Permanente since the 1990’s,” said Alliance chief negotiator Hal Ruddick. “Unless management dramatically changes course, this conflict will continue to escalate. The Alliance is united, strong, and ready to stand up for our members and our patients.”
We are united, determined, and ready to win a good contract, and defend our patients and the organization we have built. We will take a stand for our patients, co-workers, and all healthcare workers.
Every Tuesday, wear your union gear to work until we win a fair contract. (Mondays if you’re in Colorado). Take a photo wearing your union gear and post it on social media with the hashtag #BestJobsBestCare. Remember to tag KP @KPThrive and your local union.
Tell KP to invest in patient care and health care workers. Scan the QR code to sign the petition. After you sign it, share it co-workers and friends on social media. tinyurl.com/kaiser-petition
In the coming days, connect with your local union to participate in local actions and learn about the next steps in our national contract campaign. Remember to follow your local union and the Alliance on social media. Our handle is @AHCUnions. Check our web site for up coming updates and breaking news on national bargaining.
TOGETHER, WE WILL WIN
Public opinion, elected leaders, our labor allies, and our strength and unity are all in our favor. We are 52,000 strong, and KP has no path to winning this fight. KP’s proposal is out of sync with what is happening in healthcare today, as other employers provide wage increases, benefits improvements, sign on bonuses and more to recruit and retain employees. We will never let two-tier wages lead us into a broken healthcare system with worsening patient outcomes.
KP execs have abandoned a high-road, market-leading strategy that has brought them 24 years of tremendous success. An inexperienced new crop of KP executives are now
embracing a chaotic, anti-union, low-road strategy that failed in the 90s and will fail again. This is our organization, we built it, we’re powering it through a pandemic, and we’re going to defend it. Instead of proposing to decrease wages or offering an insulting 1% wage increase, we should be focused on addressing our urgent staffing needs and regional wage disparities.
JOIN US TO PROTECT OUR PATIENTS AND EACH OTHER.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021 BARGAINING UPDATE
With contract negotiations entering their final scheduled days next week, our bargaining team made progress on racial justice, patient and worker safety, and improving dispute resolution. But KP clung to destructive, unsustainable positions on economics and staffing. The final national bargaining sessions are next Wednesday, September 8, through Friday, September 10.
“It’s hard to understand what their strategy is, if any – but KP negotiators have painted themselves into a corner, leaving many, many issues unresolved while doubling down on proposals that will exacerbate the crisis in staffing, worker shortages, patient care, and morale. We have made it clear we will never agree to proposals that threaten workers and patients,” said Nate Bernstein, Healthcare Director of UFCW Local 7.
There were some bright spots of agreement. Labor and Management members of the Racial Justice subcommittee jointly recommended that Juneteenth be established as a paid holiday. They also recommended implementing processes and programs such as Belong@KP to address racial trauma/fatigue, funding citizenship assistance, and others. The labor side of the subcommittee recommended establishing a nonprofit organization dedicated to training underrepresented health care workers and the appropriate observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday.
The subcommittee on patient and worker safety reached consensus on adding language to the National Agreement on Just Culture, a recognition program for reporting of near misses, identifying and developing a communication process for emergency preparedness, and updating prevention of workplace violence. The group also recommended creation of a National Health, Safety and Well-Being Committee to ensure that Just Culture and Psychological Safety are integrated into current work streams.
There was also consensus on recommendations that could improve the speed and effectiveness of dispute resolution. The Problem and Dispute Resolution subcommittee recommended developing guidance or techniques for getting “unstuck” if groups find themselves at an impasse in the Issue Resolution process. They’ve recommended the guide be short, simple, and easily accessible for immediate reference.
KP clings to lower staffing and patient care standards
Stonewalling on staffing and patient care: Workers in every region, union, and department are in urgent need of adequate staff to provide KP members with the service and quality of care they deserve. In the face of this crisis, management members of the subcommittee stalled and derailed discussions. As a result, the group had very few joint recommendations.
While management was trying to run out the clock, labor subcommittee members crafted thoughtful recommendations to provide Alliance union members with information, structures, and processes to enable us to work with management on staffing solutions. Labor recommendations include new structures such as a Labor- Management Staffing Committees in every region, a national escalation process to resolve disputes, limits on the use of travelers, and timelines to hold management accountable for providing information.
KP economic proposals would make staffing and patient care even worse: KP negotiators clung to a discredited proposal to create a two-tier wage scale creating two classes of workers, current workers on a higher pay scale and new hires on a lower scale for their entire career. KP’s two-tier wage scale would undermine patient care, increase staffing shortages, and further harm exhausted workers. Given the current delta surges, many health care systems are acting fast and doing everything they can to recruit and retain staff, including offering sign-on bonuses, special incentives, and generous wage increases. KP chose this time of crisis to propose the worst contract terms in the history of partnership.
Local bargaining gridlock looms: KP local negotiators appear to have gotten a message to refuse to agree on almost everything, which is only creating a pile- up at the national table. “We will resolve first contracts that have lingered for years, we will address hundreds of unresolved local issues, we will find a solution to wage injustice in the Inland Empire and Kern, and we will raise standards in KP Washington where they are far below the rest of the enterprise,” said Alliance Executive Director Hal Ruddick.
Attendee Phone Number: 888-652-0384
Meeting ID: 6276
Every Tuesday, wear your union gear to work to show KP we are united to protect our patients and each other. (Mondays if you’re in Colorado). Take a photo wearing your union gear and post it on social media with the hashtag #BestJobsBestCare. Remember to tag KP @KPThrive and your local union
After you sign it, share it co-workers and friends on social media.
Questions? Contact Union Representative Rhonda Fisher-Ivie, 206-436-6584
TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2021
The first of three days of national bargaining started last week with both labor and management accepting the initial recommendations presented by the Patient & Worker Safety and Problem and Dispute Resolution subcommittees. However, the tone quickly changed when the issue of economics came up. The Alliance reviewed our proposals for good wages and benefit improvements, while KP is stuck on two-tier wages and 1% annual raises.
Alliance Executive Director Hal Ruddick reviewed the Alliance’s comprehensive economic proposal that includes good wage increases, increased tuition reimbursements and student loan repayment assistance, and raising standards in areas with lower benefits. KP negotiators have ignored the Alliance’s proposals and made only two proposals of their own: a 1% annual wage increase, and lower two-tier wages for new hires - even in the face of the staffing crisis.
“We’re at a crossroads in our 24 years of partnership,” Ruddick said. “We will not agree to this destructive two-tier proposal, and we’ve made that clear in every conversation. If KP continues on this concessionary path, it will lead to a multi-year labor war with all of KP’s unions.”
“Your problem isn’t our wages,” UNITE HERE president Eric Gill told Kaiser. “Your problem is your numbers - your wage study numbers. We don’t believe them.” KP has not demonstrated a credible rationale for lower wages and two-tier.
The first session of national bargaining will resume Wednesday morning where recommendations from the Staffing, Backfill, and Travelers and the Racial Justice subcommittees are expected. Each subcommittee is tasked with presenting all joint recommendations by Thursday, September 2, 2021.
ACCEPTED SUBCOMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Patient and Worker Safety subcommittee focused on broadening the concept of “health” to include not only physical health but also mental health and psychological safety. They presented four joint recommendations: (1) update the current section on Total Health to include psychological safety and mental health, (2) create a national committee to address psychological safety, Just Culture; and improve integration/collaboration across KP, (3) update the NA with the KP Well-Being Model that includes a holistic view of health, and (4) retain the 24/7 EAP line that’s temporary.
The Problem and Dispute Resolution subcommittee aims to clarify and improve partnership dispute resolution processes. The subcommittee’s joint recommendations included: (1) develop an easy- to-read accessible guide showing the purpose and pathway of the dispute resolution process, (2) develop an annual refresher for UBT’s and LMP Councils on how to use interest-based (IB) conversations in everyday interactions and problem solving, (3) provide just-in-time training for Issue Resolution participants, if needed, (4) develop internal capacity to train and facilitate Issue Resolution (IR), (5) provide targeted information and education to clarify how the IR process should be used.
PETITION ALERT:
After you sign it, share it co-workers and friends on social media.
In 2020, KP asked more of health care workers than ever before. Throughout the COVID pandemic, we gave high-quality patient care and service in spite of PPE shortages and a lack of planning, systems, and protocols. Now as we are trying to recover from the stress and horror of the pandemic, KP is saying our wages are too high.
The writing is on the wall. First, Kaiser Permanente presented cherry-picked data to allege our wages are too high compared to the community. Then, when we explained to new KP managers that the bedrock of our Labor Management Partnership (LMP) is best care and best jobs, they tried to revise it to best care and average jobs.
While KP hasn’t yet presented us a proposal for the “affordability” solutions they seek, we know what they’ll look like. We sacrificed and risked - and in some cases lost - our lives during the pandemic. We will not settle for average jobs. And we don’t need to—there are many ways to address affordability if we work in partnership.
“This is a remarkably profitable, successful employer, with a workforce trying to emerge from the worst pandemic in memory – and our members have made that success possible,” said Alliance Executive Director Hal Ruddick. “We expect our members’ contributions to KP’s success and our extraordinary dedication over the last 15 months to be recognized with wage and benefit improvements.”
“After the year we’ve been through, management’s posture is hard to believe. It’s time for Alliance members to send a clear message to Kaiser Permanente leadership by taking action on June 28-30,” said UNAC/UHCP President Denise Duncan, RN.
At the most recent meeting of the national bargaining economic subcommittee on Monday, June 14, Alliance leaders shared three overarching interests on benefits: preserve industry-leading benefits, raise standards for regions or bargaining units with substandard benefits, and expand the benefit package to address new challenges and opportunities. Our bargaining team presented a comprehensive, fact-based, and interest-based overview of options for improving benefits in targeted areas of opportunity, including medical plans, increased tuition reimbursement, retiree medical, help for employees with student debt, assistance with citizenship classes and fees, and other areas.
Help with student loans: More and more employers — like Aetna, Google, and Staples — are taking advantage of the COVID relief bill that allows them to provide employees with tax-free assistance paying off their student loan debt. In fact, KP already offers the benefit to a small group of employees.
Increased tuition reimbursement: Alliance members’ tuition reimbursement cap has not increased in six years. Improving this benefit will help workers improve our living standards, while also helping KP prepare workers for the jobs of the future in an increasingly competitive environment.
Aid upward mobility: Alliance members who use KP programs to upgrade their degrees or certifications frequently find they cannot put their new skills to work inside KP due to experience requirements. This barrier could be addressed with a partnership solution.
In recent bargaining years, we’ve made progress in making benefits more equitable and consistent across the organization, but gaps remain.
“In spite of the progress we’ve made, KP employees in Washington state still have benefits far below the rest of the enterprise,” said Cathy MacPhail, UFCW Local 21 Negotiator. “It’s great the Alliance is working with us to close the gap on our members’ benefits.”
“Outstanding benefits have been a hallmark of Kaiser Permanente and the labor management partnership, and a proven way to attract and retain skilled employees. This will be more important in the coming years as the shortage of health care workers intensifies,” said Micheal Barnett, president of USW 7600.
June National Bargaining Tele-Town Hall - June 24th, 2021
Session 1: 9am Pacific Time
Session 2: 3pm Pacific Time *Time Change*
Session 3: 6pm Pacific Time *Spanish Interpretation Available*
Session 4: 8pm Pacific Time
Save the date for future Tele-Town Halls
Thursday, July 22, 2021
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Contact your Union Rep to get your “United for Best Jobs Best Care” stickers. When you wear them at work starting June 28, 2021, take a picture during non-work time and share your “sticker selfie” on social media with the hashtag #BestJobsBestCare
As an appreciation for our hard work in partnership during this extraordinarily challenging year KP has agreed to our proposal for all UFCW and Alliance union members to receive a guaranteed Full PSP bonus payout. The news comes after KP agreed earlier in the week to extend COVID-19 benefits, including sick leave and childcare benefits, through the first quarter of next year.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alliance called on KP to revisit Performance Sharing Plan (PSP) goals bargained under pre-pandemic conditions. Given the unprecedented pandemic, redeployments of Trust-funded staff, the inability of many UBTs to meet, and even bad faith negotiations in one region – we had called on KP to convert the PSP to a guaranteed full payout. As a result, KP is granting partner unions with PSP at least 100% performance payout. Regions and individuals performing higher than 100% will receive the higher performance payout based on their plan’s performance. The payment will be paid in March on schedule with the regular PSP payment cycle.
Hal Ruddick, Executive Director of the Alliance, said, “We are pleased to see KP recognize the extraordinary and courageous contributions of our members and our partnership in the face of this overwhelming crisis. As our members cope with a barrage of misinformation, pain, and suffering, we can acknowledge these two victories, which are a direct result of identifying shared interests and putting forward solutions to meet this moment head-on.”
We congratulate our Alliance union leadership and members for their expertise, dedication, and hard work during this year.
After weeks of discussions with KP leaders, we are pleased to announce Alliance members will continue to receive COVID-19 sick leave and childcare benefits through the first quarter of next year.
COVID-19 Sick Leave Benefits
With the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the Alliance has been calling on KP to extend COVID-19 benefits through the first quarter of next year. The COVID-19 sick leave benefits were set to expire December 31 and have now been extended to March 31, 2021. In particular, the Alliance had called on KP to refresh sick leave for individuals who have previously used the benefit. KP is providing up to 80 hours of sick leave to refresh on January 1, 2021. Unused hours in 2020 will not roll over. The sick leave benefit eligibility ends March 31, with benefits to be used by April 30, 2021. The eligibility and other details of the benefit remain the same and are in the attached slide.
Childcare Grant
Similar to the COVID-19 sick leave, the childcare grant has been extended and the grant eligibility remains the same. Alliance leadership continues to raise the issue of extending the childcare benefit to people who work from home as well as other issues related to childcare/school closure, including the need for flexibility around scheduling, attendance, voluntary temporary shift/hours changes, and other changes to help employees meet their unprecedented family obligations. The program is set to expire on April 3, 2021.
Wage Increases
Our union colleagues from Local 21 received a 2.25% wage increase on October 1, 2020
WA State Paid Family Leave
Save the Dates
Pro Tech and Optical Contract expires 4/30/21. Take the bargaining survey
National Labor Management Partnership Agreement expires – 9/30/21. Take the bargaining survey
Pharmacy Contract expires 7/31/22
By Ralph Stumbo, RT, UBT Consultant
As the Labor Management Partnership (LMP) continues to develop at KPWA you are going to hear new terms and acronyms and you will hear about new programs and teams being developed. I would like to spend a moment with you to introduce one of those new acronyms; APR.
APR stands for Alliance Partnership Representative. As UFCW 21 members in KPWA we are also members in the Alliance of Healthcare Unions. An APR at KPWA “represents” Alliance members in “partnership activities” at KPWA. APRs are members who have stepped out of their regular position and are performing “partnership” duties full time. At this stage of the LMP at KPWA that means participation on many different committees and teams whose focus is getting the KP-Alliance National Agreement fully implemented at KPWA. While there will always be a need to represent the Alliance on committees it will also include LMP training and helping to support and build labors capacity to be good partners in the Labor Management Partnership.
Since June 2019 I have been actively involved in implementing partnership at KPWA. In January 2021 Kim Liddell from the Pharmacy Fulfillment center at Renton will be joining me as an APR at KPWA. At the same time the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (representing SEIU 1199NW & OPEIU Local 8 will have four Union Partnership Representatives (UPR’s). This represents a huge step forward for partnership at KPWA and you can look forward to an increase in labors ability help grow partnership to all areas of KPWA. Please join me in welcoming Kim to her new role as Alliance Partnership Representative.
Workforce Development is a Labor-Management Partnership (LMP) program with goals to develop the workforce of the future at Kaiser Permanente WA (KPWA), build pathways for retention and career progression, and build the skills and competencies of KPWA staff through a culture of lifelong learning.
The Workforce Planning and Development (WFPD) Committee, a group of labor and management representatives from different roles throughout KPWA, collaborated to develop this Training Needs Assessment Survey. The survey is designed to capture your views and values of developing new skills and career advancement needs within KPWA. The goal of the survey is to collect data that can inform WFPD Committee projects.
Thank you for submitting your response by clicking here.
We are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
