Kaiser members invite Providence workers to visit; learn about Labor-Management Partnership

In August, SEIU Local 49 members invited Providence employees to visit Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center to see Kaiser's successful labor-management partnership first-hand.

The labor-management partnership is based on the premise that those who do the work of providing care should be actively involved in shaping workplace policies. Kaiser employees and managers shared stories of how they have made improvements and addressed problems by working together as a team.

Providence workers who attended the event got to hear directly from labor-management partners about how they work together, as well as from Jesse Gamez, Administrator/CEO of Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center.
 
"It was incredible to hear directly from Kaiser management about how they really listen to the people who do the work every day," said Juan Carlos Escobar, CNA, Providence Portland Medical Center. "I'm working to build a union at Providence so we can partner with management to make our hospitals better."

"Employees have a voice at Kaiser: they bring ideas and we end up implementing some of them," said Mynell Harper, Nursing Manager at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. "People involved in the work should be part of making decisions. It works!"