HPAE Strategic and Bargaining Conference – January 20, 2015
January 21, 2015
Over 100 HPAE leaders and activists met yesterday to discuss strategies and action plans to achieve our goals in bargaining, legislative and political activity, membership communication and involvement, organizing, and strengthening ties with the community. The conference opened with HPAE President Ann Twomey providing us with a review of key events in 2014 and the priorities we’ve established in our strategic plan for 2015.
Following Ann’s talk, we discussed a recently-released survey that focuses on membership communication, our key priorities, and members’ attitudes toward HPAE. The survey results will help guide us as we move forward with our strategic plan.
Five committees established as part of our strategic plan then held their “kick off” meetings. At the meetings, we identified key priorities and began to develop action plans for the coming months. Click here for a description of our Strategic Plan committees.
In the afternoon, various workshops provided leaders and activists with the tools, information, and resources they need to bargain better contract language on staffing and health insurance, develop coordinated bargaining, mobilize the membership, communicate effectively, and build stronger ties with the community.
Joining us at the conference were State Senator Joe Vitale and Jim Tedesco, newly-elected Bergen County Executive. Senator Vitale, the chair of the New Jersey Senate Health Committee, spoke about some key healthcare issues, including staffing legislation supported by HPAE. He indicated that the Health Committee will be voting on the staffing legislation on March 16 and that he will be voting to move the legislation to the full State Senate. Tedesco reiterated his pledge to maintain Bergen Regional Medical Center as a public entity and discussed several ideas for expanding services at the center.
Photo below: Jim Tedesco with HPAE President Ann Twomey, Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Rosen, and leaders and activists from Local 5091, which represents RNs and non-nursing professionals at Bergen Regional Medical Center:
