2009 ASHHRA Advocacy Update
Presented by the Les Abercrombie, SPHR,
Chair, Advocacy Committee
Overview
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Your AC
Legislative Update
Hill Visit 2009
Advocacy for the ASHHRA Leader
Your National Advocacy Committee
Committee Charge
The Advocacy Committee
monitors national and state
legislative and labor
developments and researches,
develops, and promotes advocacy
programs that represent the
interests of the membership,
human resources professionals,
and the healthcare industry.
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Committee Members:
Les Abercrombie, Chair
Mike Paruta (Region 1)
Marcia Telthorster (Region 2)
Lee Byrd (Region 3)
Jamie Parsons (Region 4)
Doug Jontz (Region 5)
Steve Hodges (Region 6)
Open (Region 7)
Barb Hodges (Region 8)
Gail Blanchard-Saiger (Region 9)
Roger King (At-Large)
Staff Liaison: Stephanie Drake
Staff Liaison: Cathy Sewell
AHA Liaison: Carla Luggiero
Washington Update
Labor Issues in the 111th Congress
March, 2009
Labor ‘s “Wish List”
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Card check
Supervisor issue
Manual lifting
FMLA Expansions
Employer Neutrality
Block Nurse Immigration
Employment Verification
Ergonomics
Staffing ratios
Mandatory overtime
Labor PACs
PAC Spending
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SEIU January 1, 2007 thru August 21, 2008 22.1 million
AFSCME
11.5 million
Teamsters (IBT)
8.9 million
AFT (teachers)
7.5 million
Electrical workers (IBEW)
6.8 million
Postal workers (APWU)
5.5 million
Auto workers (UAW)
4.9 million
Food & commercial worker (UFCW)
4.9 million
NYS United Teachers
4.9 million
Communications workers (CWA)
4.5 million
IBEW Local Union 98 (Philadelphia)
4.1 million
Math on Card Check
Democrats Need 60
to Stop Filibuster
• Democrats (58)…includes:
– Two independents:
Joe Lieberman (CT)
Bernie Sanders (VT)
• Republicans (41)
• Undecided
– Minnesota
Coleman (R) vs. Franken (D)
Math on Card Check
Focus
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Focus on potential Democrats up •
in 2010 and/or from right-to-work
states*:
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Max Baucus (MT)
Evan Bayh (IN)
Michael Bennet (CO)
Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Kent Conrad (ND)*
Byron Dorgan (ND)*
Diane Feinstein (CA)
Kay Hagen (NC)*
Herb Kohl (WI)
Mary Landrieu (LA)*
Blanche Lincoln (AR)*
Claire McCaskill (MO)
Ben Nelson (NE)*
Mark Pryor (AR)*
Jon Tester (MT)
Mark Udall (CO)
Mark Warner (VA)*
Jim Webb (VA)*
Ensure all Republicans remain
firm:
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Susan Collins (ME)
Olympia Snowe (ME)
Arlen Specter (PA)
George Voinovich (OH)
FOR CLOTURE:
57
AGAINST CLOTURE: 42
EFCA – HR 1409/S 560
“Card Check”
Key Provisions
• H.R 1409/S. 560 introduced 3/10/09
• Last Congress, passed House 241-185
• Stalled in Senate on 6/26/07
– 51-48
• Veto threat
• LABOR’S #1 PRIORITY
Employee “Free Choice” Act
Eliminates federally-supervised private
election option under NLRB
Amends NLRA to allow a union to present a majority of
union-solicited, signed union authorization cards
directly to NLRB for certification as the employee’s
exclusive bargaining representative.
Employee “Free Choice” Act
Mandates first-contract binding arbitration
where the parties cannot or do not agree
after 120 days
– 90 days of bargaining
– and 30 days of federal mediation
– Contract binding for 2 years
Employee “Free Choice” Act
Strengthens enforcement by imposing penalties
and punitive sanctions rather than “make
whole” remedies for employer violations
– $20,000 per employer violation
– Reinstatement with triple back-pay
– Mandatory injunctions imposed for unfair labor
practices during organizing
The Current System
• Current Law – Card
Check Recognition
– Union solicits
employee signatures
on union authorization
cards. Once union
has collected minimum
of 30% of all eligible
workers, petitions
NLRB for election.
Employer may
recognize union.
– If employer refuses to
recognize union,
NLRB schedules
secret ballot election
• Current Law – Union
Elections
– Election generally
occurs 6 – 7 weeks
after union files
petition
– If majority of workers
vote, through secret
ballot, to support the
union, company must
begin bargaining with
union
– If workers vote union
down, union must
cease organizing
activities
“Card Check”
How “Card Check” would work under Employee Free Choice
Act
• Organizers would solicit employee
signatures on authorization cards
• Once cards signed by 50% plus 1 workers,
employer and NLRB must immediately
recognize union as exclusive bargaining
agent for employees
• NLRB is barred from conducting election
Differences Between Current and Pending
Laws
CURRENT NLRB PROCESS
PROPOSED EFCA PROCESS
Secret ballot
No secret ballot
No fear of social stigma or retribution
Potential harassment, peer pressure
and retribution
Private voting
Public knowledge of position
Opportunity to decide future
thru voting process
May not have opportunity to decide destiny
if not contacted by union
Procedural safeguards to ensure only
votes that count are cast
No procedural safeguards against
fraudulent cards
Government supervised process
Union supervised process
Opportunity to accept or reject contract
Employee removed from bargaining process
Organization and union mutually
agree on contract terms
Arbitrator-imposed binding contract
without an employee vote
EFCA’s Prospects in the Present Congress
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At least seven (7) Democratic Senators have recently stated that they cannot
support EFCA in its present form—Senator Voinovich is a “No” on EFCA and
Senator Brown from Ohio is a “Yes.”
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Potential compromise in addition to Canadian style expedited elections is a
graduated card check approach, i.e., 50% to 75% card signing only would
trigger an election. Cards submitted in excess of 75% would bypass the
election process and require employer recognition.
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Is EFCA a “stalking horse” for other labor friendly legislation or regulation,
e.g., Obama’s 2009 new Executive Orders?
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Obama administration priorities and timing
Employee Free Choice Act
• Coalition established to:
– Educate members of Congress re:
impact of bill on employers
– Develop a coordinated lobbying effort
– Education the public
• www.myprivateballot.org
“RESPECT” Act
Alters Definition of “Supervisor”
under NLRA to enable them to be
union-eligible
Key Provisions
• Removes “assigning” and “directing” other staff
from functions of “supervisor” under NLRA
• Majority of supervisor’s work time spent on
remaining statutory duties
“RESPECT” Act
The term “supervisor” means any individual
having authority, in the interest of the employer
and for a majority of the individual’s worktime, to
hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote,
discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other
employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to
adjust their grievances, or effectively to
recommend such action, if in connection with the
foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of
a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires
the use of independent judgment. [29 USC
§152(11)]
“RESPECT” Act
• AHA/ASHHRA View
– Current labor law is not broken. NLRB
decision strikes a reasonable balance in
setting criteria for employee vs. supervisor
– Bill undermines hospitals’ ability to depend
on charge nurse to ensure continuity of care
– Will adversely affect patient care in the event
of labor strike
Nurse and Patient Safety and
Protection Act of 2007
Key Provisions
• Requires OSHA to establish a federal
standard to eliminate all manual lifting of
patients
• Applies to all health care facilities
• Establishes “whistleblower” protections,
civil penalties
Nurse and Patient Safety and
Protection Act of 2007
AHA/ASHHRA View
• Protecting our health care staff is a top
priority
• This is an unreasonably strict approach
that could jeopardize proper patient care
• Caregivers must have flexibility in making
decisions about patient care
FMLA Expansions
Working Families Flexibility Act
• Requires employers to negotiate
employee requests which relate to:
– Number of required work hours
– Times employee is required to work
– Where employee is required to work
Working Families Flexibility Act
• Establishes an extensive appeals process
if employee’s request is denied
• Employee can trigger a U.S. Department
of Labor investigation, ALJ hearing and a
federal civil action filed in federal court of
appeals
• Establishes Remedies against employer
Employer Neutrality in Union Organizing
The Patriot Employers Act
• Includes a provision giving employers a
tax incentive who voluntarily agree to
remain “neutral” on union matters during a
union organizing campaign.
Other Labor Issues
Ergonomics
Restrictions on Overtime
Staffing ratios
Advocacy Committee Hill Visit
May 18-19, 2009
 Collaborate with American Hospital Association
 Partner with SHRM Government Affairs
 Meet with 20+ Senators/Representatives and
staff
 Advocate on 4 key issues
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Protecting employees right to a Secret Ballot
RESPECT Act
Workforce challenges
Protecting Caregivers’ heath and preventing injury
Raise Your Voice!
 Familiarize yourself with the Advocacy Process
 Understand what is happening on a Federal and
State Level
 Linkage with National AC
 Set up Chapter AC
 Work collaboratively with your state hospital
association.
 Advocate on the Legislative Issues that impact the
issues important to the health care community
 Get involved
Advocacy Resources
National resources:
ASHHRA - http://www.ashhra.org
American Hospital Association - http://www.aha.org
State resources:
Your State Hospital Association
Your State Legislature
Your State ASHHRA Chapter
Your State and Local Chambers of Commerce
June 24 – 2009 Hill visit webinar
Halloween pre-conference session
December 3 – Advocacy 101 webinar
Pulse Articles
Website
Online community
Raise Your Voice!
 Familiarize yourself with the Advocacy Process
 Understand what is happening on a Federal and
involved
 State Level
 Linkage with National AC
 Set up Chapter AC
 Work collaboratively with your state hospital
association.
 Advocate on the Legislative Issues that impact the
issues important to the health care community
 Get
Raise Your Voice!
 Familiarize yourself with the Advocacy Process
 Understand what is happening on a Federal and
State Level
 Linkage with National AC
 Set up Chapter AC
 Work collaboratively with your state hospital
association.
 Advocate on the Legislative Issues that impact the
issues important to the health care community
 Get involved