Kent Hospital UNAP Local 5008 – A message from the President

 Dear Colleague:

      I am pleased to write to you as the newly elected president of our Union...I thank you all for the overwhelming vote of confidence.  Your support has been truly humbling and further motivates my intentions.  I promise to do my best to make good on the goals I have campaigned on such as rebuilding the Uion representative/officer structure to ensure we have a strong union and diverse leadership from all disciplines. Most importantly we need to address staffing concers with the employer and hold the employer accountable.  as you may already know, I take my responsibilities quite seriously and never turn away from a challenge.

    In a Union, it takes all of us to be successful.  As I work to implement the goals of my term I ask all of you to join together to make a strong union a reality.

Kent employs 2,104 of those, 1400 are union jobs. We are the Majority.

Employers keep track of union activity and participation to guage the strength of the group.  this becomes a crucial factor during contract negotiations and when matters of health insurance, staffing, etc are questioned or challenged. One person cannot make a difference without the support of the majority. We all need each other right now to bring this union to where it should be and tap into its potential.

What can you do?

What is your role?

Simple.

• Utilize and understand the function of the Union.  Refer to your Contract. These Bargaining Agreements are a result of years of planning and difficult negotiations by union leadership. If a violation occurs-GRIEVE IT!!! Bring the issue to your rep or VPs Mike Choquette and Michelle Lopez. 
• Attend Meetings-even if they're boring, although, most of the time they are quite colorful and offer a forum to air ideas and issues. ( They only take up 1/16 of your whole day and occure once every 4 months) 
• Stay informed. get to know who your representatives are and keep them abridged of matters on your unit of sector.  The reps in turn keep me up to date and I am able to bring these concers to HR or the appropriate administrator. (Reps meet once a month).
• Answer the call of action during times of crisis. When WE " THE UNION" (meaning you) needs to fight and we often utilize tactics such as information picketing or wearing buttons, plese make EVERY effort to participate.  Even if you can only give a few minutes.  These activities have a great impact on gaining leverage and awareness. (Employers monitor these activities and take note of the strength or numbers of [articipants). 

Examples of crisis can include but may not be limited to:

• Decrease of health benefits
• Budget cuts and poor staffing practices
• Potential utsourcing and lay offs
• Contract Negotioations

MOST IMPORTANTLY, TAKE OWNERSHIP-THE UNION IS ALL OF US!

I'm looking forward to working with all of you to make Kent a better place to work and utilize services.

Sincerely, 

Thicia Criner, RN

President UNAP Local 5008