800 Kaiser Nurses Join Union Via Process in Employee Free Choice Act

by Mike Hall, Mar 5, 2007

The day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employee Free Choice Act, some 800 nurses at Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California facilities showed how the act’s major provision—majority sign-up—provides a fair and equitable way for workers to decide if they want to join a union to bargain for a better life.

During the course of a six-month campaign, the nurses talked with each other about whether to join the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP). Then they decided for themselves, without management interference or the intimidation and threats that so many employers use to thwart workers, to sign authorization cards saying they wanted to join the union. In majority sign-up, after a majority of workers signs cards saying they want to join a union and their signatures are verified, the employer agrees to recognize their choice.

On Friday, after the signatures were checked by a neutral third party, Kaiser Permanente honored their choice. Under a 1997 agreement between the health care provider and the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, new units of workers can choose a voice on the job by majority sign-up, without the hostile and bitter relationships that often linger following most organizing battles. The majority sign-up, says registered nurse Shirley Johnston,

…was very fair. People were able to get the information they needed. If people felt pressured, they wouldn’t have taken the information. We wanted a union so we could have a say in how things are done. I want to work with management to make things better.

Scott Bryant, RN, also says the majority  sign-up process leads to a more productive and professional relationship with employers.

Management was neutral. If we were in a hostile setting, it would have been very stressful. We will be stronger [with] a voice to negotiate for the wages and job security that will help us recruit and retain nurses. We are starting a new era for the hard-working and devoted members of this union. We look forward to building a stronger relationship with Kaiser.

Kathy J. Sackman, RN, UNAC/UHCP president, says by agreeing to be neutral and agreeing to majority sign-up,

Kaiser Permanente proves that respecting workers’ desire to have a voice on the job, rather than fighting the unions, is not only the right thing to do, but it makes good business sense.

Overall, some 10,000 nurses, optometrists and physician assistants at Kaiser Permanente’s facilities are union members. For more information on the relationship between the workers’ unions at Kaiser Permanente and management, visit the Labor Management Partnership website.

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