The 2009 Local 5 contract campaign at Kaiser Permanente is more than just about wages and benefits, standard items on any negotiation table; this campaign aims to accomplish much more. In a nutshell, this campaign seeks to give workers the voice they need to improve working conditions, ensuring a safe and reasonable workload and proper staffing. With this voice Kaiser will not only be the best place to work, but also the best place to get care. Kaiser wants to be recognized as a model for universal health care. Local 5 workers want to be able to deliver on that goal.
We already have many of the tools to make this dream a reality:
- Skilled and dedicated staff, physicians, and management
- An integrated model that uses evidenced based medicine and coordination of care
- A culture that promotes public health above profits
- Technology, like electronic medical records, that improve clinical analysis and positively impacts outcomes
How do we get there?
We make our dream a reality by creating a workplace where the talent and wisdom of the frontline worker are put to full use- a workplace where frontline workers’ voices are heard and taken seriously.
There are several areas within our system that need to be scrutinized. For example, should we have clinic departments in which one medical assistant covers two doctors? Should we have one ward clerk covering two units of the hospital? What is the appropriate staff/patient ratio?
The good news is that after years of prodding by the Unions that cover Kaiser employees, Kaiser seems to be taking steps in the right direction, albeit baby steps. They are starting to talk about creating an environment that leads to Kaiser being proclaimed the “best place to work“. Local 5 want that commitment to be real and lasting. If Kaiser takes these steps and delivers on their promise, working conditions in health care in Hawaii will be taken to a new level and the biggest winners will be the patients we serve.