Hawai’i Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Union Joins the Alliance Unions

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Alliance Unions announce admission of Hawai’i Nurses and Healthcare Professionals into the Alliance FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2020 – Alliance Unions are excited to announce today that the Hawai’i Nurses and Healthcare Professionals union has joined the Alliance of Health Care Unions.

On January 22 Alliance leadership unanimously approved admission of Hawai’i Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (HNHP) into the Alliance. HNHP represents about 960 Kaiser Permanente registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and respiratory therapists employed by Kaiser Permanente in Hawai’i.

“We are thrilled that HNHP is joining our Alliance team,” said Denise Duncan, RN, UNAC/UHCP President and Alliance Unions Vice Chair. “We look forward to standing strong with our HNHP brothers and sisters for the nursing profession, for KP patients and for our Partnership in Hawai’i.”

In December 2019, HNHP successfully held elections and was certified by the National Labor Relations Board as the exclusive collective bargaining representation for three KP Hawai’i nursing bargaining units formerly affiliated with the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions. The new leadership chose to request admission to the Alliance and was admitted.

“With the Alliance in our corner, we are more ready than ever to forge ahead with bringing about the promises of transparency, education, member engagement, democracy, member rights, and patient safety that we all campaigned on,” said HNHP Interim President Maureen Meehan-Golonka. With HNHP’s decision to join the Alliance, and the members already represented by UNITE HERE Local 5 and UNAC/UHCP, the Alliance now represents approximately 3,800 Kaiser Permanente employees in Hawai’i.

“UNITE HERE Local 5 welcomes Hawai’i Nurses and Healthcare Professionals into the Alliance,” said Eric Gill, Secretary Treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 5. “We are pleased to continue our work with the Kaiser nurses and look forward to our joint efforts in making Kaiser the best place to work and receive care.” With HNHP’s inclusion, Alliance Unions now represent registered nurses in six out of eight Kaiser Permanente regions, bringing Alliance Unions membership to 22 local unions representing more than 50,000 Kaiser Permanente employees.

“With HNHP’s members the Alliance will be an even stronger voice for Registered Nurses across Kaiser Permanente,” said Adrienne Enghouse, president of Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) and Alliance Unions Executive Board Member. “The Alliance is a great fit for their membership.”

About the Alliance of Health Care Unions: The Alliance is made up of 22 Local Unions representing more than 50,000 Kaiser Permanente employees, including ILWU, IUOE, HNHP, KPNAA, OFNHP (AFT), Teamsters (IBT), UFCW, UNAC-UHCP (AFSCME), UNITE HERE, and USW. Our mission is to empower our union members, using our collective voice and our partnership to sustain high performance at Kaiser Permanente, thereby improving lives of our members and their families by securing leading wages, quality of worklife, and quality care. More info at ahcunions.org.

Contacts: Cassandra Braun (510) 541-7528; Maureen Anderson (909) 962-9410.