A REPORT BY BECKY WEATHERLY
On
July 12-14, Laura Lewis (RN, Homecare) and myself had the pleasure of attending
the 1199P/SEIU Leadership Assembly in Harrisburg.
The leadership assembly is the place where chapter leaders come together
to make plans and decisions, and is the highest decision making body of the
union .
The
first day began with a Nurse Council Meeting.
The 1199P Nurse Council brings together nurse leadership from chapters
all across the state. We discussed
issues such as the nursing shortage and a plan of action that includes
supporting legislation for safe staffing and banning mandatory overtime.
We also discussed health and safety issues including the OSHA blood borne
disease standard and revisions and we were given
an
opportunity to observe some of the newest needles sharps and sharps containers,
which are safer.
There were at least four different vendors present to demonstrate their
product and we were given many samples to bring back.
Finally, we were able to earn CEU credits for attending.
The
second day, we were given a packet of information and introduced to the District
1199P/SEIU staff.
A brief review of officer’s reports took place and then we were
delighted to have Bob Casey Jr. with us to talk about his vision for PA
including doing whatever he can to pass legislation to ban mandatory overtime.
District 1199P/SEIU has voted to endorse Mr. Casey as our next governor
and we will support him in all ways.
We also heard from AGH nurses about their contract settlement and from
nurses of the Dept. of Corrections regarding an attempt to privatize them, which
we are fighting.
We
were broken up into groups and given the opportunity to
attend various workshops. I attended 2 workshops; one was about
grievances (what they are and how to file them), and the other was about
"just cause" and what it means.
They were both very educational.
We also discussed an upcoming campaign to stop mandatory overtime and
have better staffing.
On
the last day of the conference, Laura and I talked briefly about our long
struggle for recognition at TMC and what helped us finally win was our
willingness to strike. The
remainder of the day we continued in our workshops and then we heard from a
group of Harvard students who took on the cause of the janitors in their
struggle to earn a "living wage".
Finally,
the members voted on two resolutions:
1. For $100,000 from the strike fund to fund our campaign for legislation
against mandatory overtime.
2. To work as a union to help elect Bob Casey Jr. as our next governor.
The entire weekend was packed full of both business and pleasure and it was wonderful opportunity to meet members of other Chapters and to learn more about our union ---1199P/SEIU.
