Our current contract expires on March 20th. Negotiations on a new contract begin Friday, February 5th. On the eve of negotiations I always start thinking about where we've come and where we are going.

RNs at ECH have been organized since 1966. You would think all the problems would be solved by now. Yet every two years PRN and ECH join together to identify and solve issues facing the RNs and the Hospital. Despite our excellent collaborative relationship, the RNs and Hospital do not always agree on the issues or solutions.

Collaboration takes a great deal of effort and committment. I think we have an excellent negotiating team. The six bargaining unit RNs bring a wealth of knowledge and clinical experience to the table. This is the first negotiations where the RNs at the Los Gatos campus will be represented.

Jeremy Bruce is new to the negotiating process, especially the Interest-Based Bargaining. Jeremy works 12-hour shifts in the Emergency Department at Los Gatos. He worked at Los Gatos under the prior owners and knows how different ECH is from Tenet.

Jean Christen is also new to the negotiating team. She works 8-hour shifts in the Emergency Department at Mountain View. She has been a unit representative for the ED for a number of years and is very skilled at presenting the needs of her nurses.

Dorothy Baer returns to the team this year. She is an NUC on the night shift on 4A - Surgical/Peds. Dorothy has been an NUC since the position was first created. She has worked the night shift since forever. Her knowledge of the workings of the hospital and the unique needs of nurses on nights in invaluable.

Judy Hannah also returns to the team. She works on the evening shift on 3B - Telemetry. Judy is still learning how the negotiating process affects nurses day to day. She has committed herself to representing nurses who often feel they do not have a voice in how the hospital treats nurses.

Michele Machiels, L&D at Mountain View, has been on the PRN negotiating team for several years. She is known for not giving in. She is our conscience. Respect for seniority is her primary committment.

Lynn Taylor is a CNS who has been working as the Activation Specialist. Many of you at the Mountain View campus and some of you at the Los Gatos campus know how her leadership and dedication to the needs of nurses and patient care were and still are essential to the successful transition into the new hospitals. Lynn has been on the negotiating team for several years.

Finally, I am the Chief Negotiator for PRN. As president I bring the perspective of the whole bargaining unit to the table. Whether you work days, evenings or nights; whether you work at Mountain View or Los Gatos; whether you are a CN II, CN III, NUC, educator, coordinator or another of the numberous job classifications, I am here to bring your needs, interests and issues to the negotiating table. I have bargained for nurses since 1975 and have been on the PRN negotiating teams since 1983.

I worked at ECH for almost 27 years in the Operating Room. I retired from ECH O.R. two years ago. Prior to working in the O.R. I worked in Behavioral Health/Psychiatry for more than 13 years. My focus at that time was conflict resolution and problem solving. As a facilitator I have experience bring teams together to identify concerns and find solutions.

This year we have all faced incredible change. This stress has been, at times, overwhelming. Now we need to focus on what nurses need to deal with the new work environments at both Mountain View and Los Gatos. We have serious issues that need to be addressed including education, staffing, scheduling and the overall work life.

The PRN negotiating team is very skilled and energized to represent all of you. Keep in touch via the PRN negotiating e-mail at prn.negotiations@att.net and let us know what you think about working at ECH.