Deborah Grinder. Photo by Bill Burke
Jan Shirey serve as Kaiser Permanente Liaisons. As liaisons, they will assist members, stewards, representatives and even managers with Kaiser contract questions.
“It’s important for Kaiser members and all members at Local 400 to stick together and know our contracts because it’s our greatest strength,” said Grinder. “I view my role as an opportunity to teach everyone, management and members, about the contract and how to uphold it.”
Grinder and Shirey both have been with Kaiser for over a decade and active Local 400 members serving as stewards and delegates on bargaining committees.
Before becoming the Kaiser contract liaison, Grinder was a lead nurse in cardiology as well as a performance improvement specialist to help facilitate unit based teams and their progress with in the region. Last January, Grinder returned to the Largo clinic as a Lead DCSM (District of Columbia and Suburban Maryland) Infusion Nurse that included PICC lines. A PICC line is peripherally inserted central catheter or a long term IV that stretches from the top of one’s arm to one’s heart. In fact, Grinder is nationally certified to place PICC lines in Kaiser patients within the region.
Jan Shirey. Photo by Bill Burke.
She was also in charge of creating a PICC line program for the DCSM. After being hired in September 2010 as contract liaison, Grinder knew she wanted to continue her work with the PICC line program. On Tuesdays when Grinder is at the Largo clinic, Shirey helps with members’ questions and concerns about the contract. Shirey has been with Kaiser for 29 years and is a psychotherapist. In the past, she was a representative on the board of the Health Professionals Association before Kaiser became affiliated with Local 400. Since then, she’s been involved in every contract negotiation. In 2000, she was one of the two shop stewards who were invited to the first national negotiations in California where the Labor Management Partnership between Kaiser and unions representing its employees to include UFCW. She loves talking and educating members about the Kaiser’s history, “because after all, I was here for it all,” she said.