So Fun! 20th Anniversary Celebration on the University Campus

SHARE: 20 Years Old
&
3200 Strong

By the Numbers

Nine hundred attendees, give or take a few. That’s how many people popped in last for SHARE’s 20th Anniversary Celebration on the University Campus. SHARE members came down during lunchtime to the Faculty Conference Room from desks and bedsides and lab benches, and even bussed over from other campuses. Thank you to everyone who made time to make the event such a success!

It was a pretty good day for two unions recognizing a shared anniversary. And in other nifty statistics, our celebration had nine raffle winners. More importantly, altogether, the raffle participants contributed $535 to the UMass Medicine Cancer Walk and Run.

SHARE Rep Rich Leufsted
reprises his famous "SHARE Song"

A Festive Atmosphere

We were excited to catch up with old friends: SHARE retirees, SHARE members who have been promoted to management positions, and some beloved SHARE members who have moved on to other careers. Joining us, too, were many guests, including students, nurses, executive leaders from our Hospital and Medical School, members of sister unions, and even a few folks who just wandered in wondering what the hubbub was about.  

We ate. We sang. We marveled a bit at how SHARE’s values of kindness and respect have translated into policies and work systems that enable SHARE members to participate at work. We did an awful lot of smiling.

SHARE-UMMS EBoard Member AJ Iaconi
describes how a Joint Working Group
at the Critical Care Unit has improved working conditions
and patient care

Support from an Old Friend

Congressman Jim McGovern returned to the University Campus where he championed our union in

Congressman Jim McGovern
commended the courage of employees
who voted to unionize

the beginning. He reminded us that, twenty years ago, the formation of SHARE was the result of the largest organizing effort central Massachusetts had seen in over sixty years.

As he looked over the crowd, Jim McGovern noted members of the senior leadership team participating in our big day. He called it a testament to SHARE's commitment to partnership and non-adversarialism. As he pointed out, especially in those earliest days, University and Hospital management have not always recognized the value of our union. He praised our union's earliest pioneers, who didn't know how management would react, and had to believe that we could create the kind of union that would make our community stronger.

Congressman McGovern remembered our earliest days so well that he even teased us about the unscoopable frozen-solid ice cream that we chiseled into servings at that ice cream social, back-in-the-day. And he encouraged us to continue being brave in our efforts, saying that SHARE members were not only important to one another in the room, and to our hospital, but because we’re a vital union that makes the middle class possible.

More to Come in SHARE’s 20th Year

SHARE Rep and PCA Kona Enders
describes how SHARE members
stick together

The event also served as a great show of our spirit and our strength leading into next-year’s contract negotiations. Both SHARE at UMass Memorial and SHARE at UMass Medical School will sit down at the table with our respective employers next year.

In the coming year, at anniversary events throughout our campuses, we’ll continue celebrating, and reflecting, and thinking ahead together. To keep up, be sure to subscribe to the SHARE blog, and check in to learn about developments at www.theshareunion.org/20years

SHARE Hospital Treasurer Kathy Girouard
and Organizer Dylan Goodman
tended the photobooth--until the crowds took over the space

New SHARE/JOIN Fellow Eve Feldberg explains

how an increased minimum wage

benefits SHARE members and other members of our community

Nice shout-out from Congressman McGovern on his Facebook page!

Twentieth Anniversary Celebration This Thursday

It's here! Happy anniversary! This Thursday, we kick off a year of celebrating throughout our campuses with a bash on the University Campus. Join us for some fun!

SHARE 20th Anniversary Celebration

Thursday, September 21st

11:45-1:15  

UMMS Faculty Conference Room

• Food! Including sub sandwiches, homemade treats, and -- of course -- chocolate!
• Songs! New and old, written by SHARE members
• Special guests! Including Congressman Jim McGovern, returning to congratulate our union, which he championed on our campus 20 years ago
• Raffle! Enter to win one of several baskets. All proceeds go directly to support the Cancer Walk
• Memories, Friends, and More! Including free SHARE Union schwag!

Both our Hospital and Medical School unions will enter contract negotiations in the coming year. This is a perfect time to show off the good things our unions have done, to highlight our goals, and to demonstrate to the community our strength and aspirations. Let’s eat, and laugh, and enjoy!

Developments, details, and other anniversary events can be found at www.theshareunion.org/20years

Help Keep Your Union Strong

Hi blog reader!

We really appreciate that you’re keeping tabs on your union’s news. There are now a few hundred subscribers to the SHARE blog . . . not to mention all of our unsubscribed readers. Thank you!

Never have our connections to one another been more important than now. Our unions have grown to include over 3,200 members. If you’re a faithful blog reader, or have been around our union for a bit, you know that person-to-person conversations make our union strong. That's a lot of conversations.

This Thursday, we’re hosting our first big event to celebrate SHARE’s 20 Year Anniversary. Throughout the year, we’ll be celebrating on all of the campuses, and we want to kickstart things right. We encourage everyone who can to come out to this one. Every member deserves to have a meaningful connection to their union, and we would love your help.

Here are a few things you can do now . . .

Ten Easy Things You Can Do this Week to Help Keep SHARE Strong

1. Come to our keystone event, the 20th Anniversary Celebration, on September 21st.
2. Bring a plate of finger foods to that party.
3. Email a photo of yourself, along with a quote about what SHARE means to you, to kirk.davis@theshareunion.org.
4. Print a flyer or three, and post them in your area.
5. Send an entry to the Great SHARE Recipe Swap.
6. Hand out postcard invitations to friends and co-workers (ask your SHARE organizer for some, or contact the SHARE office: 508-929-4020).
7. Help plan to celebrate on your campus . . . contact your SHARE organizer for details.
8. Subscribe to the SHARE blog.
9. Warm up your voices and be ready to sing.
10. Ask your co-workers to do any of the above!
11. 
    

SHARE at Fenway Park

SHARE Union Co-President Bobbi-Jo Lewis

on deck to be recognized

during the pre-game ceremonies

There’s nothing like that feeling of being in the ballpark with friends, with the bright lights all around, as a talented singer nails those last few bars of "The Star Spangled Banner." And when Martha Vedrine stepped her voice up an extra interval near the end of her recent performance of the Anthem at Union Night, it was a magical thing. The stands erupted. Martha is a member of our sister union at Harvard University, HUCTW, where she works at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.  

HUCTW member Martha Vedrine
singing the National Anthem

At the Red Sox game at Fenway Park on Labor Day, over 220 of the seats were filled by members of SHARE and HUCTW. Union Night is designated to recognize what unions do to improve the lives of working people.

Our own SHARE Hospital union co-president, Bobbi-Jo Lewis, was recognized during the ceremonies. "I've been bringing my kids to watch the Red Sox since they were little. It was really special for them to be in the stands while I got a chance to wave up at the crowd from the field," Bobbi-Jo said.

Bobbi-Jo's kids at the game:
SHARE member Emily Anderson
and her brother Tyler

We’re already looking forward to the next Union Day at Fenway. Although the Major League schedule hasn’t been announced for next season, we’ve got our fingers crossed for a day game, so more SHARE families can be able to come. We’ll keep you posted.

In the meanwhile, most any time that you go to Boston to see the Sox, you can listen to the musical skills of HUCTW member Josh Kantor. Josh is Fenway’s official organist. He has negotiated a flex-time arrangement with his supervisors at Harvard University’s Loeb Music Library so that he can perform at all of the home games. Next time you’re at a game, you can even Tweet him a song request!

The Great SHARE Recipe Swap: Kathy Bateman's Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Looking for a festive party food that you can whip up quickly to bring to an event? Let’s say, for example, the SHARE 20th Anniversary Party? SHARE-UMMS President Kathy Bateman has you covered. Below is her recipe for Chocolate Covered Pretzels.

If you’re bringing your Nana’s secret-recipe fudge brownies to our big day, that’d be a welcome treat, of course. That said, we also would love to include everyone in the recipe collection. To learn more about our pot-luck event, and to access the Recipe Swap easy submission form, just visit the Great SHARE Recipe Swap website.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

About this Dish: This recipe is so fun and easy that children will enjoy rolling, sprinkling and designing their own pretzel creation. I make these during the holidays and they disappear in no time.

Ingredients and How to Make It:

1 container of Pretzel rods (about 48 rods in a container)

Melting chocolate – I use white and milk, but you can use whatever color/flavor you like.

Sprinkles for decoration

Parchment or wax paper

Preparation:

Have at least 4 large cookie sheets lined with parchment paper – this makes clean-up a breeze and the pretzels will not stick to the cookie sheet.

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees and turn the oven off.

Place the vanilla and chocolate on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and put into the oven to let the chocolate melt. Test for doneness by taking a toothpick, and swirl the chocolate through the middle.

While the chocolate is melting, place two of the parchment lined cookie sheets in the freezer so the chocolate will harden quickly after being dipped.

When the chocolate is melted, remove from the oven. Roll the pretzel rods in the chocolate to coat evenly and place on a frozen cookie sheet. This works up quickly. Once you have a whole sheet of pretzels, sprinkle with colored sprinkles and drizzle the different colored chocolate over the dark chocolate, same with the dark chocolate, drizzle over white pretzels. If you don’t have sprinkles, the drizzles will do just fine.

Place the decorated pretzels in the freezer for about 5 minutes. After removing from the freezer, place the pretzels on a plate or platter. Enjoy!

Additional Comments:

I purchase the white and chocolate flavored “Plymouth Pantry Almond Bark” at Wal-Mart, but you can use any kind of melting chocolate.

Submitted By: Kathy Bateman

Department: Pathology

Epic Training Update, Including Tips for Class

SHARE has a deep interest in the success of Epic. Our hospital has invested significantly in the new Epic system, and the our progress will be tied to its implementation. In a recent SHARE Rep meeting, we compared experiences with Epic Training. Most Reps generally agreed that trainers had been knowledgeable and helpful. They felt the hospital had made it an imperative to make sure that every employee succeeds with the testing required for Epic GoLive.

That said, we also heard about problems. In some classes, materials hadn’t been pertinent to everyone in the class. SHARE communicated a thorough roundup to the hospital leadership in charge of Epic, and our report lined up with the other feedback they’d been hearing, including concerns about:

• In-class hardware issues
• Class location
• Parking
• Accessing the Epic Playground
• Ensuring accuracy with meal count
• Consistency between trainer instructional delivery
• Trainers not always able to respond to UMMHC policy related workflow questions

Hospital leadership seems to be responding quickly to correct shortcomings. The good news is that exit evaluations show that employees have found the Epic Trainings to be very beneficial. And that the trainings are getting better over time.

Those who have already been through Epic implementation at other hospitals tell us that it’s common at this point for employees to feel anxious about the amount that they’ll need to know at GoLive. Hospital leaders have described that employee feedback has helped them better understand our hospital’s unique needs. They are working with Epic to tailor a robust set of easy-to-use tools to make the transition to Epic successful for every employee.

If you haven’t yet been to an Epic training, SHARE Representative (and Epic Superuser) Kate Richardson makes the following suggestions:

• Take strong notes and write down as much as you can. This will be a great reference come GoLive.
• Keep your classroom materials, you will need these to practice in the playground.
• Practice in the playground often.

SHARE members can learn more at www.ummhcepiccentral.org

The Great SHARE Recipe Swap: Jillian Schellhammer's Crab Rangoon Dip

RECIPES WANTED!

In honor of SHARE's 20th Anniversary (And, to prepare for the big Celebration), we're currently accepting recipes for the Great SHARE Recipe Swap.

We'd love to include your recipe in the collection. Find more details, including an easy submission form, on the Great SHARE Recipe Swap website.

To whet your appetite, here's a recipe provided by SHARE member Jillian Schellhammer, who works in Provider Enrollment in our hospital.

Crag Rangoon Dip with Toasted Won Tons and Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

About this Dish: I'm always preparing my house's dinner for the week on Mondays.. Feeling good, beginning of the week, I'm thinkin', "let's have a movie night Friday, and I'll make snacks!" - meaning, I will be tired after a long work week and have to host friends that I invited when I was energized (this happens, well, every week..). So, I prepared my Monday grocery shopping list and set off to the store. Thursday comes around, I'm already dreading hosting this little get together - thinking about all the cooking I will have to do.. Is there a way I can just order pizza..? Then it's Friday. I know how I am, I do this all of the time, I know that I'm going to go way overboard - and what do I do? Just that. BUT! It was totally worth it, and actually ended up being decently easy (just time consuming, you can easily make the thai chili sauce ahead of time or use store bought - I prefer homemade). Give it a try to wow your guests, or just yourself when you're craving some crab rangoons but really don't want the guilty feeling at the end.

Ingredients and How to Make It:

Crab Rangoon Dip Ingredients:

12oz lump crabmeat (or imitation crab), drained and shredded

8 oz cream cheese

1/3 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire

2 tsp soy sauce

3 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp Sriracha

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 package won ton wrappers (optional)

Sliced scallions

Sweet Thai Chili Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red chili flakes (I add a dash more for a little more kick!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

IF DIPPING WITH WON TONS: Cut them into triangles, 2 per sheet. Add them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray, and bake for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. Set aside.

In a large bow, mix crabmeat, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, Worcestershire, soy sauce, lemon juice, Sriracha, garlic and pepper. Add salt to taste, give it another stir, and add to a casserole dish.

Top with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and bake for 25 minutes until the top begins to brown.

While dip is cooking, whisk all Sweet Thai Chili Sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened.

Garnish hot Crab Rangoon dip with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce drizzle and chopped scallions. Dip with toasted won tons or dippers of your choice.

... ENJOY!

Additional comments: Baked won ton wrappers can easily be substituted with any chip/cracker of your choice.

Leftover Sweet Thai Chili Sauce can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for a few months.

FYI, won ton wrappers are found in the produce section!

Personal recipe blog coming SOON!

Submitted By: Jillian Schellhammer

Department: UMass Memorial Medical Group - Provider Enrollment