National Nurses United

Profile:FINAL 7/3/08 1:27 PM Page 18 Following Her Lead rn jan ic e we bb loves to teach and nurture new nurses, and has parlayed that passion into mentoring a whole nurses' movement as a CNA/NNOC board member. by e ri ka larson F or cna/nnoc board member and University of California bargaining team member Janice Webb, RN, 2008 has so far proven to be a hectic—but fruitful— year. In March, UC RNs ended an 11-month struggle to hammer out an agreement with management, securing a progressive contract that ended dangerous and outmoded shift rotations, stopped takeaways, and deflected a controversial "wellness" program (Registered Nurse, April 2008). Then, just a few short weeks later, a labor court returned a verdict on a lawsuit brought by UC against the RNs for an attempted 2005 strike, ruling that RNs had been within their legal right to strike (Registered Nurse, May 2008). "I've been telling everyone at work about the strike decision," says Webb, with a note of vindication. "I tell everyone I see, 'Did you know that strike in 2005 would have been legal?'" Webb, a UC San Diego intermediate care nurse, is interested to see how the court's decision will affect the mood when bargaining sessions reopen in July. Her first two rounds of negotiations as a bargaining team member have been educational, if exhausting, experiences, she says. With this recent contract, "there was so much tension towards the end. Our last bargaining session was supposed to be one day, and it ended up lasting three days." Still, she says, the experience of working with her colleagues kept her in good spirits. "We had faith. We kept each other sane." Some aspects of bargaining took longer because, as public employees, the UC nurses must follow a certain process. Webb and her fellow bargaining team members also had to educate themselves about current issues and events affecting California's public-sector workers. "Retirement and healthcare were our big issues," she says, 18 REGISTERED NURSE reflecting the concerns of many of the state's public employees, who, at a time of a massive state budget crisis, face uncertainties about pensions and benefits. "We stayed aware of bills that could pass that would affect our pensions, and we did a lot of research on who does what." Although she says UC negotiators kept reassuring nurses not to worry, and that "we'll take care of you," Webb understands it was important for nurses to remain vigilant in order to get what they W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G JUNE 2008

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