AFT Issues "Protective Order" for Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals

For Only Fourth Time in Its 93-Year History AFT Finds It Necessary to Suspend
Local Officers for Putting Members` Contracts in Jeopardy, Violating Fiduciary
Responsibility and Engaging in Undemocratic Practices

OFNHP Now Operating Under a Temporary Administratorship
PORTLAND, Ore.--(Business Wire)--
The American Federation of Teachers removedthetop officers of the Oregon
Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), including President Kathy
Geroux, and AFT Healthcare took over the union`s functions and finances through
a "protective order" to prevent the erosion of members` bargaining status,
contractual protections and democratic rights.

"We were greatly concerned that the actions of a few local leaders were putting
the rights of thousands of our members at risk. It`s our job to protect the
members," said Anne Goldman, RN, an AFT Healthcare officer. AFT Healthcare is
the 70,000-member healthcare division of the American Federation of Teachers.
This is only the fourth time in the AFT`s 93-year history that it placed a local
union under a temporary administratorship.

AFT President Randi Weingarten appointed labor lawyer Mark Richard as OFNHP
Trustee. "A small group of local leaders violated their responsibility to its
members by failing to abide by the union`s constitution and related labor laws,"
Richard said. "Voting procedures, meeting requirements, and rules on spending
were ignored by individuals intent on proceeding with a personal agenda. If the
national union did not act, members risked losing their bargaining power with
their employer or at the very least being thrown into a legal limbo."

In June, AFT Healthcare was approached by several members of the Oregon
affiliate, including former elected officers, who presented a petition asking
for assistance from the national union. The OFNHP members described what they
called "a nightmare scenario" in which OFNHP officers were using union dues
without proper authorization and taking actions in violation of the union`s
local and national constitutions to change the bargaining status of OFNHP`s
members and possibly switch union affiliations. The charges brought by members
took on added urgency because contract negotiations are scheduled to begin with
the union`s primary employer, Kaiser Permanente, in 2010.

"AFT members have the right to disaffiliate, drop out of a bargaining coalition
or make other changes if their local union leaders follow the steps outlined in
the union constitution. If they don`t follow the rules, the national union must
step in to protect the rights and livelihoods of those who depend on us,"
Weingarten said.

Richard said that if the officer`s illegal actions continued, it could have
placed members` contracts in jeopardy. Additionally, if the local leaders had
carried out their plans, OFNHP would no longer be a part of the 15-union
bargaining coalition at Kaiser. Further, Richard said, AFL-CIO rules preclude an
AFL-CIO local union from immediately affiliating with another AFL-CIO union.

"OFNHP`s leaders forgot what business they are in," Richard said. "They were
supposed to protect members rights, create democracy in the workplace and the
union hall and ensure that contractual language were protected. Instead, they
engaged in a campaign of falsehoods, ignored members rights, violated their
fiduciary responsibilities and placed their contract with Kaiser at risk."

Geroux and others on her team had rebuffed AFT`s efforts to investigate charges
brought by members, claiming that AFT had wanted to divest itself of OFNHP, a
charge that AFT Healthcare Organizing Director Gary Stephenson called "an
outrageous lie."

The AFT Constitution in Article VI, Section 15 authorizes the national officers
to take temporary control of the operations of an affiliate for the purpose of
restoring the democratic rights of members and, or, correcting financial
malpractice or misappropriation or loss of funds. An emergency administratorship
may be authorized in order to secure and safeguard an affiliate`s assets and
vital records from immediate threat, provided that the AFT`s Executive Council
approves within five business days and a committee charged with a formal
investigation with full due process rights and procedures is constituted within
24 hours of such a vote. A vote by the national union`s Executive Council has
been scheduled for July 11.

The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP) represents
3,000 nurses and health care workers in Oregon and Washington. The local is part
of AFT Healthcare which represents more than 70,000 members in 100 locals in 18
states and territories. Nationally, the American Federation of Teachers
represents 1.4 million members. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

AFT/OFNHP
Contact:
Jamie Horwitz, 202-549-4921
jhdcpr@starpower.net

Copyright Business Wire 2009