Humans of UNAC/UHCP: Doug Wong, PA-C
If there’s anything I’m excited about, it’s the opportunity to do right by our patients, and to do right by the folks who are doing the work every single day.
“If there’s anything I’m excited about, it’s the opportunity to do right by our patients, and to do right by the folks who are doing the work every single day. We’ve spent the past few years really seeing what needs to be done for everyone. And now, sitting down at the table, we have a chance to make things better, not just for our union members, but for everybody we see in the clinics and on the floors.
“It’s easy to get caught up in all the things that haven’t been done, to focus on where we’re coming from, the frustrations, the challenges we’ve all lived through. And there have been a lot of those. But when you sit across from people who are there with you—people who want to enact change—it shifts your mindset. You start to focus on what can happen. You realize there’s a chance to do something different. And there’s real value in that.
“The first day of national bargaining was in the books, and I walked away with hope. Honestly, there’s more positivity in this process than in the past. It feels like, for once, we’re aligned on the big things—what we need to do for our patients, our communities, and our coworkers. Sure, we still have differences about how to get there, but there’s a shared desire to get there. And that’s something.
“There’s a moment at the table when it hits you: we’re going to move forward. Even if everything isn’t perfect, we have a chance to make things right. That’s what matters—to look ahead, keep the momentum, and remember why we’re here.”
—Doug Wong, PA-C, UNAC/UHCP Common Issues Committee member, is also bargaining at the local table that represents registered nurses, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners working at Kaiser in Southern California.