News

As of 5:15 on January 10th, the President of Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (OFNHP), Jonathon Baker, filed a "demand to bargain" setting the expectation that Kaiser Permanente negotiates with our Bargaining Unit leaders over the impacts of the recent situation with our members.

Jonathon has issued this statement upon the filing of the "demand to bargaing":

"Today, as of 5:15pm, I issued a formal Demand to Bargain on behalf of all Kaiser bargaining units to Jeff Collins, President of KPNW to bargain the impacts of unsafe staffing conditions both for our members and our

On January 3rd, the nurses and healthcare professionals at Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and Southwest Washington filed a notice of an intent to hold a picket at Sunnyside Medical Center on the afternoon of January 13th. These healthcare workers, who are members of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), AFT Local 5017, are picketing over what they say are critically low staffing levels that have created a harmful situation for healthcare professionals and, if they continue, will spell disaster for patient care.

“As hospital admissions rise, healthcare workers are so

After the December 7th State of Emergency declaration issued by Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s office, nurses and healthcare professionals are raising concerns about how this could further exacerbate the staffing crisis. Issued with concern for how Oregon hospitals will handle the recent increase in seasonal flu and COVID-19 infections, this order allows hospitals to ration care, work with reduced staff, and make changes that they believe will assist with adequate triage. Across hospitals like Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center and Westside Medical Center, two essential hubs of emergency

Yesterday, Governor Kate Brown issued a State of Emergency regarding the healthcare situation across Oregon. Given the dramatic rise of flu cases at the same time as the most recent COVID-19 spikes, they anticipated healthcare facilities and hospitals to be stretched beyond our previous limits. While we have been calling on employers to improve staffing at our hospitals and clinics long before COVID and now RSV. Now, we are in a massive staffing crisis all across the country, and this new order allows for our Oregon employers to disregard many of the staffing standards that we know are

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of Douglas Brant, and everyone who was touched by the tragedy that took place on December 1st. RNs and healthcare professionals are on the frontlines of patient care, saving lives every day. Brant’s murder is a frightening and devastating example of violence that healthcare workers often face, something that haunts so many of us as we continue the work of keeping our communities safe.

Workplace safety and prevention is a central piece of what we are fighting for as healthcare unions and it is time our employers take this issue as seriously as we do

Join us for a foundational training session that will give you the tools to have one-on-one union conversations with your coworkers and fellow union members that is focused on reaching organizing goals and engaging our membership. One-on-one "structured conversations" are the bedrock of the union organizing model, intended to highlight a person's workplace issues and move them from frustration to a place of empowerment and action.

On the evening of December 7th, we will be going through how to have these conversations, how to break down their component parts, and how to approach your coworkers

WASHINGTON—A groundbreaking new report bringing together data and testimony from frontline healthcare workers details crippling shortages across the healthcare industry, revealing dangerous conditions for patients and healthcare professionals alike, exacerbated by profit-driven corporate leadership in the healthcare field.

According to the report, nurses and other healthcare workers are exhausted, burnt out, anxious and leaving the profession in droves, a trend that began long before the COVID-19 pandemic and can be addressed with a series of key interventions and policy recommendations

Election day has come and gone – and across the country, votes are still being tallied. Election day is not “results” day, and democracy depends on taking the time to count every single vote.

In Oregon, Tina Kotek has been named as our new governor.  This was a major success for our union as she was a necessary pathway to support our legislative agenda, including a bill on staffing, that we hope to see move in the 2023 session.  

Christina Stephenson won the race for Labor Commissioner (the top seat at BOLI) She is a former civil rights attorney and working mom, and she ran on a platform

As you may have seen or read on the news, there was a safety event at the Westside Medical Center. This is frightening both for staff and for our patients, and we strive to ensure that our workplace is a safe place to encourage healing.

With everything going on in the community and in our professions, we wanted to ensure you and our members know what resources are available within Kaiser Permanente and the American Federation of Teachers, Nurses and Health Professionals (AFT).

Additional Resources:

KPLEARN:

• Has Mental Health Training for Employees
• Course ID: IND:MHW EMP
• MH Training Resource List

Our Political Education and Action Committee (PEAC) has been active in the political realm this year, running endorsements, getting out PAC donations, and looking over what’s at stake in the state’s electoral races. As a “deep Blue” state, we often assume that Oregon is safe for progressive issues that affect healthcare workers, but this can be a bit of a mirage. In statewide races, we actually are usually skating on paper thin margins. In this year’s Governor’s race, the Democrat, Tina Kotek, is having the gap closed dangerously close by her opponent, an anti-union extremist with ties to the