News

On June 27th, OFNHP Treasurer Joshua Holt participated in a lobbying event at the United States Capitol sponsored by the American Nurses Association (ANA). Holt, an RN since 2010 and a past-Chair of the Kaiser RN Bargaining Unit, has served in union leadership since 2016 He is a member of the Cabinet on Health Policy for the Oregon Nurses Association, the statewide affiliate of the ANA and professional association for nurses in Oregon. 

This year’s lobbying efforts were tied to four key legislative goals: 

1. Restricting mandatory overtime for nurses
2. Support for the Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction

Dear Members of the Oregon Nurses Association,

As members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP - AFT Local 5017), representing over 2,500 RNs in Oregon and SW Washington, as well as Nurse Practitioners and other healthcare professionals, we are writing to express our unwavering support for your Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strikes. The challenges and injustices you are facing resonate deeply with us, and we stand in solidarity with you during this critical time.

Healthcare professions demand not only our skill and dedication, but also a working environment that

On Monday, June 3rd, over 20 nurses and supporters marched on their boss to demand an end to wage theft and timecard irregularities that have gone unaddressed for weeks. After their steward council meeting, having already confronted HR, KP workers assembled at Kaiser Sunnyside and marched on their boss.

“Multiple RN staff have been underpaid to this day, and we find this unacceptable,” read Jennifer Kaley to Adam Van Den Avyle, the overseeing hospital administrator. For months, people’s paychecks have been incorrect: sometimes, their overtime or increased pay rates were downgraded to straight

On May 23rd, 260 healthcare workers in the professional bargaining unit at PeaceHealth Southwest successfully won their union election by a rate of 80% for Home Health and 65% for hospital-based. These workers joined 1,700 other PeaceHealth healthcare professionals in affiliating with the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), a local affiliate of the 1.7 million AFT Nurses and Health Professionals. These healthcare professionals’ overwhelming support for unionization came at the end of years of grassroots organizing, driven by issues like short staffing, uncompetitive

On May 6th, professionals working for PeaceHealth Southwest begin their National Labor Relations Board election to determine whether or not they will officially form a union. These healthcare professionals have opted to join the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), a local affiliate of the national AFT, which includes 1.75 million workers across the country. These workers signed a supermajority of union authorization cards to form their union in order to gain a legally protected voice to bargain for improvements in their work environment and patient care. \

"As a

Now that we are in the heat of bargaining our next union contract we are faced with a major point of contention with St. Charles: a step system vs. market adjustments. In order to win our first contract we settled without something that is often a standard feature of union contracts, a “step and grade system” for wages that ensures transparency for annual wage increases based on years of experience. Management does not like this system and instead is proposing market adjustments, which allows them to make the decision for who will get raises and by how much.

A market adjustment is not, itself

On April 4th, professionals working for PeaceHealth Southwest filed with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union. These healthcare professionals have opted to join the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), a local affiliate of the 1.7 million  AFT Nurses and Health Professionals. These workers have signed a supermajority of union authorization cards, which then gives the employer the opportunity to recognize the wishes of their employees or to  force  a union election.

"We are incredibly excited to welcome the PeaceHealth pros into our union and help them

The 2024 OFNHP election candidate nomination period ended on Friday Feb 16 and we are pleased to share with you the candidates you will be voting for this election cycle. Uncontested positions will not appear on your ballot as these candidates were the sole nominees for their position and will take office on March 28, 2024. You can scroll to the bottom of this message to see a list of uncontested positions.

Ballots should be arriving in your mailbox near the end of February. The Election Committee urges voters to please mail in your ballot no later than March 18 in order for it to be received

In a bold move, five union stewards in Kaiser Permanente led a march on their director, armed with a petition demanding the addition of a charge nurse in the Med Surg Overflow unit, a comprehensive paper citing nine peer-reviewed articles supporting the necessity of a charge nurse to the unit, and several ADOs from exhausted nurses who have faced unsafe staffing levels and missed breaks because of this staffing issue.

The petition, signed by 118 nurses from all of Med Surg, reflects a nearly unanimous call for immediate action to alleviate the strain caused by the lack of safe staffing in the