Posts tagged registered nurses
The Faster Labor Contracts Act would force workers into unions they never voted for
June 4, 2026 // The retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors, by contrast, are traditionally harder for unions to organize because the workers who would back a union are also less likely to stick around. That’s why the unions want contract deadlines to apply to all negotiations, not just cases in which companies may be deliberately delaying things. Unions might otherwise find themselves in a “herding cats” situation because workers are constantly coming and going.
Murmurs: PCC Spent $260,000 on Unemployment Benefits During Strike
May 26, 2026 // Senate Bill 916, which allows striking workers to access unemployment insurance during their time on the picket line, made Oregon the first state in the nation to require public employers to pay such benefits. Now we know how much that cost PCC. James Hill, a spokesman for the college, says it estimates it will incur about $260,000 in unemployment claims associated with the strike. (The average striking worker may claim unemployment starting in the third week of a strike, the same week the faculty union’s strike was resolved at PCC.) That number is significantly lower than the $1.45 million the college estimated it might have to pay each week, if all striking workers had filed claims. Public employers, often known as “reimbursing” employers, don’t opt to pay unemployment contributions to the state on a regular basis. Instead, such employers often reimburse the state dollar for dollar, which drove many public agencies to warn that the legislation would financially drain them. And while the state can relieve public employers of costs if they negotiate back pay agreements, PCC opted not to. The strikes at PCC were the first at a community college in Oregon’s history, and may have had broader implications for the institution. PCC president Adrien Bennings voluntarily separated from the college on May 14. The college’s board of trustees voted 6–1 to approve a $261,000 severance package—$1,000 more than it spent on striking workers—among other perks.
Union representing 25,000 nurses reaches deal with UC, averts planned strike
November 19, 2025 // Originally, AFSCME had planned to go on strike with University Professional and Technical Employees CWA Local 9119, or UPTE-CWA 9119, a union representing about 21,000 professional and technical UC employees, in an attempt to secure higher wages. CNA planned to participate in a sympathy strike to show solidarity with other unions and increase pressure on the UC system. However, UPTE also recently reached a tentative agreement with the UC, leaving AFSCME to strike alone. The UC system also released a statement praising the agreement, claiming that it yields “meaningful pay and benefit increases for more than 24,000 UC nurses.”
Commentary– Kenyon: DHMC nurses mourn failed attempt at unionization
June 9, 2025 // The group of 50 or so registered nurses who led the effort at DHMC had outside help from the Northeast Nurses Association, which assists health care workers in four states in forming unions. Nela Hadzic, the group’s regional organizing director, spent enough time with DHMC nurses to see what they were up against.
On a roll: Clinic nurses and others vote to join USW
November 5, 2024 // Nearly 80 Squirrel Hill Health Center workers voted Thursday to join the United Steelworkers union, the latest victory for the Pittsburgh-based labor organization that has been expanding membership in recent years to university faculty, librarians and professional football players. The newly unionized workers serve as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses, medical and dental assistants, therapists, front desk staff and others who work at the center’s four Pittsburgh area clinics.
Many Maryland state government workers will get raises under new contracts
December 20, 2021 // Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration has reached agreements with multiple unions that will mean raises for many state employees.
Nearly 32,000 Kaiser Permanente workers set to strike Nov. 15. Tens of thousands more mulling their own demonstrations
November 5, 2021 // Almost 32,000 Kaiser Permanente workers plan to kick off an open-ended strike on Nov. 15, according to Thursday night announcements from the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP), United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7600 and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (OFNHP).