Meet Our New Staff Representative – March/April’11 Voice

April 2011

During the Beverly Hospital organizing campaign, the subject of Parkview Community Hospital came up constantly—and Beverly management began spreading flat out lies.  Fortunately UNAC/UHCP had a secret weapon—veteran RN Penny Brown, the first President of the Parkview Registered Nurses Association, who drove out to Montebello to personally set the facts straight.  Penny, whose work is guided by the motto “pay it forward,” used her time with the nurses to talk about how she became an activist because of the strong support from the RNs from UNAC/UHCP during the unionization of her hospital.

Penny had been at Parkview for almost six years when UNAC/UHCP started organizing at the hospital.  She became a leader of the effort, and the affiliate’s first President when Parkview joined  UNAC/UHCP.  She participated in all of the contract negotiations, and knew the stories Beverly management was telling its RNs about Parkview negotiations were simply untrue.  Penny has recently begun work as the UNAC/UHCP Staff Representative for Parkview —taking her advocacy for Parkview nurses to the next level.

Penny has been married for 18 years to Derrick.  She loves to go out dancing with him, or spend a quiet night at home watching a movie.  They have three children: Brittney, 21, who will follow in her mother’s footsteps just as soon as she’s accepted into a nursing program; Derrick Jr., 18, recruited as quarterback on a football scholarship by University of Washington; and Chelsea, 13, who is a basketball superstar.

In her free time, Penny loves to garden, shop, or have lunch with her friends.