Report from the UAPD Triennial Convention

More than 150 UAPD members from across the state attended the 2009 Triennial Convention and Leadership Weekend in San Francisco.   The theme of the meeting, “UAPD On The Move,” was fitting as the attendees stayed on the move themselves during two days packed with exciting and enriching activities.


Some highlights:

  • Doctors dissected National Health Care Reform legislation as part of Friday morning’s complementary four-credit Continuing Medical Education class.  UAPD leaders Dr. Stuart Bussey, Dr. Peter Statti, Dr. Ronald Bortman, and Dr. Robert Weinmann made presentations alongside UAPD Lobbyist Doug Chiappetta and AFSCME Political Analyst Suzanne Haviland.  After this successful first outing, UAPD looks forward to offering more CME courses to its members in the near future. 
  • Doctors heard from three dynamic politicians.  Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, who is running for Congress, joined doctors in a press conference in support of the preserving public option in the federal health care reform bill.  Mayor Gavin Newsom accepted our “Walk the Walk” award for bringing universal health care to his city through the Healthy San Francisco program.  Mark Leno, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and now  State Senator, spoke about the deep complexities of trying to bring about logical and coherent change in a place as strange and odd as Sacramento.
  • Dr. Robert Weinmann received the Marcus A. Sanford award for service to the Union.
  • State, County, Private Practice, and Retired members broke out into separate membership meetings, where they discussed common challenges and developed strategies for resolving them as a Union.
  • Doctors from across the state mixed and mingled to the swing-style harmonies of the Blue Star Singers, featuring UAPD’s own Gloria Duarte.


Resolutions and Bylaws Changes:
 
The Triennial delegates voted in favor of three bylaws changes:

  1. The Board of Directors was given the power to temporarily reduce  dues.  The Board voted to reduce dues from .95% of salary to .90% for all UAPD members. 
  2. Retirees not paying active member dues can no longer hold UAPD Executive Committee positions; however, retirees who continue to pay active member dues can.
  3. No member employed as a manager or confidential employee can serve as an officer of the UAPD Executive Committee.

 
The Triennial delegates also voted in favor of three resolutions:

  1. Against contractors doing bargaining unit work.  UAPD firmly opposes the contracting out of our positions, and resolved to always fight so that any work available be offered to employed doctors.
  2. In favor, along with AFSCME, of a public option in health care, one that includes the rights of collective bargaining for the doctors tasked with carrying it out.
  3. Gave the Board the power to start negotiating with AFLAC to get pricing and terms on a long-term disability policy that would be offered to UAPD members through AFLAC.

 
More to Come:

The weekend proved informative and inspirational for staff and union members alike.   We have significant work to do in every sector, but coming together gives us renewed energy to face the challenges ahead.  We hope to see even more new faces at next year’s membership meetings, and plan to host special steward trainings and CME classes even before then.  Stay tuned!

 

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