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What is the Ben Hudnall Trust?

The trust was named for Ben Hudnall, a labor leader who held a thirty year business manager position for the Engineers and Scientists of California, Oakland IFPTE Local 20. He was a strong advocate for education and retention of employees. Ben Hudnall’s tireless work in the early days of the partnership, as well as the transition to computerized charting in 2005 saved countless jobs and ensured the Partnership would work towards building the knowledge base of its employees. We now have an employee trust in his name that provides our Kaiser members with critical benefits.

Click Here to Watch a Video About Ben Hudnall

Who is it for?

The fund is pen to any KP Alliance (or KP Coalition) union member who has completed their probationary period. Among our membership, this means the six bargaining units that we represent at Kaiser Permanente, who are covered by the Alliance national agreement.

Click Here to Look at the Partner Unions for Ben Hudnall

 

What programs do they have?

There are several programs and services from the Ben Hudnall Trust that are designed to help union members in a variety of ways.  

  • Continuing Education classes for nineteen different disciplines, covering many of our Kaiser members.  https://bhmt.org/ce-direct/  
  • Career and Academic Coaches to help navigate opportunities to advance or change careers as well as ensure success in academic pursuits.  https://bhmt.org/career-coaching/
  • College and university courses to help get members closer to enroll in degree specific programs via Ben U Academics.  https://bhmt.org/ben-u-academics/
  • Associate to Doctorate degree programs through partnerships with colleges and universities.  https://bhmt.org/degrees/
  • An RN to BSN program to help associate prepared registered nurses earn their Bachelors of Science in Nursing.  https://bhmt.org/rn-to-bsn/
  • Certification Programs which cover academics, clinical, non-clinical, and digital. This includes diverse certifications like wound care and project management. https://bhmt.org/certifications/
  • Ben U Skills help union members develop and polish up skills such as IT (keyboard practice, basic computer skills, business analysis and project management, even Six Sigma certification prep).  https://bhmt.org/ben-u-skills/
  • Members can benefit from a laptop loaning program so they can participate in their other BHMT benefits. https://bhmt.org/laptop-lending/
  • An individual stipend of 1-16 hours per pay period can help members take time off work to complete their studies. This benefit requires close coordination with the supervising manager to consider the student’s work-life balance as well as the needs of the unit.  https://bhmt.org/individual-stipend-program/
  • The Tuition Assistance Program is an annual $3,000 maximum educational reimbursement per employee.  Applications are subject to management approval.  More details: https://bhmt.org/tap/

Ben Hudnall is one of the benefits that we are able to won as part of coalition bargaining with the Alliance and one of the primary ways that we can ensure our members get the resources needed for long and successful careers in healthcare. By organizing across multiple Kaiser locations and almost two dozen unions, it has given us the leverage necessary to win one of the best benefit funds in the country.


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