Dear Kaiser OFNHP family,
Before the update, I want you to know that we’ll be holding a member townhall on Monday, November 10, at 7:00 p.m. We need as many members as possible to join, because we have important updates to share on the campaign for a fair contract. Join the townhall using this link.
You know that feeling when someone tries to argue with the facts by denying their existence:
“Don’t believe your lying eyes.”
That’s exactly what it feels like at the bargaining table right now. Every time we bring real evidence to Kaiser about the challenges facing our members—the short staffing, the moral injury, the revolving door of people leaving—they tell us we’re imagining it.
Here’s just one example of many. We presented irrefutable evidence on the effect of below-market RN wages on vacancies. Compared to nine other hospitals in the Portland metro area, Kaiser ranks lowest on wages. RN vacancies have increased 43% in the last month alone, jumping to 243 from 170 just a month earlier. Turnover for new nurses is on the rise.
Kaiser’s response: “our consultant tells us we don’t have a problem.”
Our members don’t have the luxury of hiring slick consultants to tell us what we want to hear like Kaiser. That’s not an argument, it’s not bargaining, and it’s certainly not partnership. It’s gaslighting and cowardly, plain and simple.
It’s part of a pattern of behavior. After we reached a tentative agreement on successorship, Kaiser retracted it and said, “don’t worry, we have no plans to sell.” When we’ve presented evidence on below-market wages for techs, they’ve said, “we don’t see it that way.” When we presented evidence that our pros work way beyond their schedules, they’ve said, “the problem isn’t the workload, it’s that are pros don’t work hard enough.”
Well, we’ve had enough.
KAISER DOUBLES DOWN IN NATIONAL BARGAINING
Last week, I told you I was “cautiously optimistic” about the direction of national bargaining. I was right to be “cautious” but not “optimistic.”
This week, we met with Kaiser on Tuesday and Wednesday. At their request, we brought in a mediator a few weeks ago to help us find a pathway to an agreement. The mediator’s recommendation was that he bring Kaiser and the Alliance different “scenarios” that tie together all the outstanding issues into a comprehensive package.
We played ball. The Alliance bargaining team took a hard look at the mediator’s scenarios and gave the mediator a supposal that took the process and his recommendations seriously. Our expectation was that Kaiser would do the same.
Instead of engaging in the process that they requested, Kaiser undermined it — showing that their call for “partnership” and “dialogue” was more about optics than solutions.
Kaiser gave us back another on-the-record package proposal. Kaiser’s proposal made no movement on our priorities: worker voice in patient templates, improvements to the no cancellation policy, contract alignment and fair wages. The only changes were targeted changes to proposals that would benefit other Alliance unions, including improvements to the pension benefit for HNHP and funding for a UNITE HERE Local 5 trust fund.
We support and celebrate the wins for other Alliance unions. Full stop.
However, Kaiser’s repudiation of the process they requested showed their hand: their goal is not to bargain for a fair agreement—their goal is to impose one.
ADDITIONAL NATIONAL BARGAINING DATES ADDED
National bargaining resumes on November 17th through 19th in Los Angeles. Next week we will be holding local bargaining for many of our local tables.
A DESPERATE PR STUNT TO SWAY PUBLIC OPINION
In case you missed it, Kaiser took out full page ads in the Oregonian and in media markets across the country to “talk” to us. It was disingenuously titled, “An Open Letter to Employees.”
Let’s call it for what it is: Kaiser wasn’t talking to us—they were talking about us. It was a desperate PR stunt meant to embarrass and guilt us by publishing our wages and misrepresenting their offer for the public to see. I’m pretty sure we know what’s on our paychecks, just like we know how Kaiser has refused to pay a fair wage that kept up with inflation over the last three years.
If Kaiser wants to talk about salary, why don’t we start with CEO Greg Adams whose salary was $13.7 million in a recent year? If you’re doing the math, that’s nearly $6,600 per hour—about 180 times higher than the average wage for an OFNHP tech.
Putting aside the absurdity of this stunt, Kaiser got one thing right: it matters what the public thinks about what we have on the table. And Kaiser’s “Open Letter to Employees” conveniently omits important information about how what we’re fighting for is directly connected to patient care:
· Kaiser wants to undermine the staffing law. Kaiser has demanded that our nurses waive their right under the staffing law to file staffing complaints with the Oregon Health Authority. That proposal is a slap in the face to the healthcare workers and lawmakers who fought hard to pass that bill, and it’s a non-starter.
· Wages are a staffing issue. Only someone who hasn’t worked at the bedside can mistake wages and staffing for separate issues. Our proposals are simple: restore the losses to buying power that inflation eroded to recruit and retain high-quality staff and reduce the dependence on high-cost travelers.
· Worker voice in patient templates. Our members should have a voice in the patient templates that determine how much time they can dedicate to their patients. Our proposal doesn’t force agreement—it simply requires collaboration with the very professionals who deliver the care. Giving them a voice will improve patient outcomes and improve retention and recruitment.
OUR SOLIDARITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
Kaiser’s campaign of misinformation is exactly why we need to let the community know we’re fighting for them.
While Kaiser has been buying up expensive ads to tell the community we’re paid too much or contacting politicians claiming that “wages [were] the reason for the strike and the primary issue in negotiations,” we’ve been out in the community telling them how our working conditions are patient healing conditions.
We need to keep building momentum. Kaiser won’t change their posture at the table until we create enough pressure so that the cost of not settling is higher than the cost of stalling.
Please sign up for community leafletting here.
TOWNHALL ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10 at 7:00 p.m.
We have important updates to share on the campaign to win a fair contract. It’s critical that we have a big turnout to show Kaiser that we’re continuing to build momentum.
Join the townhall on Monday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m.
Kaiser can’t claim to value quality care while ignoring the people who provide it. Our proposal is a chance to rebuild trust, restore balance, and show that respect for professionals isn’t optional—it’s essential to delivering great care.
I’ll see you on Monday at the townhall.
In solidarity,
Sarina Roher
OFNHP President