UNAC/UHCP at Forty: 2010s Timeline
2010: Affordable Care Act shakes up the health care industry.
The Affordable Care Act – or “Obamacare” – expands access to health care. When the bill went into effect for all Americans in 2013, it shifted the landscape of how patients accessed care and spelled the end for hospitals without electronic health records.
2010: Longtime UNAC/UHCP President Kathy Sackman retires.
Elected president in 1976, Kathy was one of the founders of our union.
2011: In a whirlwind two-month campaign, Beverly Hospital registered nurses vote to join UNAC/UHCP in early 2011.
The group ratified its first collective bargaining agreement in 2012.
2011:UNAC/UHCP-supported Senate Bill 233 is signed into law, clarifying physician assistant practice in the emergency care setting.
The Emergency Services and Care bill that allows a physician assistant to provide treatment and consultation in the emergency care setting. UNAC/UHCP long supported this bill, and worked to secure its passage and the signature of the Governor.
2011: Specialty Care Nurses and Midwives and WOC nurses join UNAC/UHCP through card check.
These groups ushered in a wave of expansion for our union, building the ranks of health care professionals. When founded, the midwives and WOC nurses group were named KPMWON, but have since changed its name to Kaiser Permanente Certified Specialty Professionals.
2012: Retired UNAC/UHCP members found the UNAC/UHCP Retiree Council
The UNAC/UHCP Retiree Council was founded in 2012, spearheaded by the organizing committee—Frances Powell, Ann Foster, Amy Teufert, Brenda Jordan, Fred Tinamisan, Donna Knoch, Christine Lakowski, Sonia Moseley and Marie Scheet. The group was later officially chartered by AFSCME Retirees, one of the largest retiree groups in the labor movement.
2012: Longtime UNAC/UHCP Treasurer Delima MacDonald retires as Treasurer.
Delima, one of our union’s founders, is remembered as a one-of-a-kind character who in the early days of UNAC/UHCP would work as a registered nurse during the day and then ride her motorcycle to work for UNAC/UHCP overnight.
2013: UNAC/UHCP scholarship program launches, awarding scholarships to members, family and the community.
In 2014, the scholarships were named after three UNAC/UHCP founders, Kathy Sackman Member Scholarship, Sonia Moseley Family Scholarship and Delima MacDonald Community scholarship.
2013: Kaiser Southern California physical, occupational and recreation therapists join UNAC/UHCP.
The United Therapists of Southern California, or UTSC, members reshaped our union and expanded health care professional membership.
2014: Registered nurses at Parkview Community Hospital strike.
The walkout was the first strike for UNAC/UHCP members for 34 years.
2014: UNAC/UHCP escalates workplace violence prevention campaign.
Along with health care professionals from across the spectrum, UNAC/UHCP members testify at Cal/OSHA as regulations are drafted to solve this decades-long problem.
2015: UNAC/UHCP-sponsored legislation protecting the 12-hour shift signed into law.
California governor signed Senate Bill 327 to protect the 12-hour shift for all California RNs.
2015: Kaiser pharmacists across Southern California join UNAC/UHCP.
The group secures huge gains at the bargaining table.
2016: Sharp nurses win historic improvements.
Sharp nurses drive the narrative and achieve a new contract with wages and gains to retain and recruit experienced RNs.
2018: In an epic contract battle, UNAC/UHCP Kaiser members flood bargaining on July 8, 2018 to beat back attempted benefit cuts and changes to cancellation language.
In March, UNAC/UHCP is a founding member of the Alliance of Health Care Unions. The Alliance negotiates for a national agreement that would apply to 50,000 members.
All six of the UNAC/UHCP contracts at Kaiser negotiate local agreements and win big, including getting the UNAC ratios, nurse-to-patient limits better than state law, enshrined in the Blue Book contract for Southern California registered nurses.
2018: When Maui Health System becomes affiliated with Kaiser Permanente, members vote to join UNAC/UHCP.
The United Nurses and Health Care Employees of Hawaii expands UNAC/UHCP’s servicing area to Hawaii.
2019: Kaiser pharmacists across Hawaii join UNAC/UHCP.
This second Hawaii group expands UNAC/UHCP service areas from Maui and Lanai to Oahu, Hawaii and Kauai islands.
2019: Chino Valley registered nurses win their first contract and join UNAC/UHCP officially.
The collective bargaining agreement included provisions to protect safe staffing ratios and the RNs’ ability to advocate for improvements to patient care. This is the culmination of a ten-year fight by these nurses to win a union contract and a voice in patient care at their hospital.
2019: UNAC/UHCP-sponsored legislation strengthens staffing ratios.
Senate Bill 227 bolsters enforcement of California’s historic nurse-to-patient ratios.