A Fond Farewell

HPAE Sec-Treas Barbara Rosen, Mike Slott, HPAE President Ann Twomey, and HPAE VP Bernie Gerard

This is the last issue of What’s New With HPAE, HPAE’s email member update, that I will be editing.  After being an HPAE staff member for 25 years, I am retiring at the end of this month. HPAE will be putting out the next member update on January 11th, with a new editor and perhaps some changes in the format.

I’m incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to be at HPAE and do important and challenging work under the leadership of our three state officers while working closely and collaboratively with local leaders and my colleagues on the HPAE staff.

Editing What’s New With HPAE was just one of the “hats” I wore in this organization, but it was one of the most enjoyable aspects of my work. With over 13,000 members and 22 locals, there is a myriad of actions and initiatives that our union is involved with at any point in time. One local is organizing a “march on the boss” to protest a policy, another local is holding a meeting with a community group regarding the problem of  medical debt, a group of local officers are receiving training on negotiations, etc. – the list goes on and on.

The purpose of What’s New With HPAE is to provide HPAE members with a weekly snapshot of the range of union activities throughout New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania while highlighting the important issues and policies our union is advocating. In short, this snapshot is a form of member education. I hope that members have found What’s New With HPAE to be a useful way of learning about what our union does and what it stands for.

As I retire, I recognize that HPAE faces great challenges in the years ahead, including the rise of mega-healthcare systems and attacks on our collective bargaining rights, such as the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the “Janus” case. Yet, I also believe that if any healthcare union has the capacity and resources to become stronger in this challenging environment, it is HPAE.  We have strong and effective leadership at both the state and local levels which provide the backbone for our union. We have a talented and dedicated staff that can provide the kind of strategic advice and resources which leaders need. Most importantly, we have the essential foundation for a great union: a shared understanding that our union can only be powerful if our members are educated, active, and engaged in the struggle to not only improve conditions and wages in their workplaces, but to make our society more just and fair.

While you won’t see my name on What’s New With HPAE any more, I will still be wearing another one of my current HPAE “hats” in retirement: I’ll continue to be on the Board of Trustees of our Retiree Medical Trust. If you need to reach me about any issue or concern with the Trust, just email me at mslott1953@gmail.com.

My best wishes for a strong and united HPAE,

Mike Slott