The Cabinet on Economic and General Welfare is the democratically elected governing body for WSNA’s union-related work statewide. The cabinet sets priorities for functions and activities of WSNA labor relations.

Cabinet members work to improve the lives of nurses through better contracts. They also encourage organizing on behalf of nurses.

Meet your cabinet members!

Julia Rose Barcott

Yakima — ICU registered nurse at Astria Toppenish Hospital

What are your priorities as a cabinet member?

My passion is to have the staff nurse voice be heard and for nurses to be the decision makers. Being able to advocate for social justice issues through nursing is also an important priority.

What do you enjoy about being a cabinet member?

I love being able to interact with all the other local units and to be able to represent WSNA at the state and national levels. At WSNA, we are leading the nation with advocacy for staff nurses and patients. One of my favorite activities is listening to the other local units when they share their challenges and victories. There are so many amazing nurses with such incredible ideas for dealing with issues.

Why is being involved with the union important?

If we don’t get involved in our unions, then others will make decisions for us and our patients. Standing in solidarity to get something accomplished is such a great feeling. Unions working together can accomplish so much more. If you, as a member, have a concern there is an opportunity to fix it when you work in a union. When you stand alone, there is no bargaining power.

Edna Cortez

Shoreline — Registered nurse at Seattle Children’s Hospital (celebrated 32 years in July)

What are your priorities as a cabinet member?

I would like for myself as well as the cabinet to be more visible to all the facilities and nurses. We need to schedule in-person visits to various facilities/hospitals to talk with officers and members. This can be done virtually, but I would like to visit in person.

What do you enjoy about being a cabinet member?

I love networking and meeting members around the state. You all know that I love to be a social butterfly and am willing to travel all around the state. Not to be cheesy, but to know that I may represent nurses from all around the state fulfills my professional goals and my personal and professional soul.

Why is being involved with the union important?

Another cheesy answer, but so true: Being a member of our professional organization is essential in my nursing career. It is important to know that nurses represent nurses. It is nurses/healthcare professionals who know what nurses need and are aware how important nurses are for our patients.

Ruby Crisostomo

Puyallup — Registered nurse at St. Joseph Medical Center – Tacoma

What are your priorities as a cabinet member?

One of my priorities is to fight strongly for better wages with quality medical benefits and retirement security. I want healthcare workers to have the freedom to join the union without facing the challenges of intimidation and harassment from management. I support promoting work-life balance. I also advocate for affordable higher education and career training programs when an employee becomes injured at work.

What do you enjoy about being a cabinet member?

There are so many things that I appreciate being on the cabinet. Not only am I able to learn and experience leadership, policies, labor movements, and laws, but also because of my background and experiences, I can advocate for various viewpoints based on race, ethnicity, gender, political views, religion, and geography.

Why is being involved with the union important?

A union is very important in our society because a union helps in improving wages, benefits, and working conditions. A union helps an employee not be terminated without “just cause.” Unions help to provide job-safety laws, overtime pay, Medicare and Social Security, civil rights protections, and fair treatment for the members. Union members know that by speaking up together, we all can accomplish more than you could on your own.

Yunna Flenord

University Place — Cardiovascular ICU charge nurse at St. Joseph Medical Center – Tacoma

What are your priorities as a cabinet member?

As a new member of the cabinet, my only priority so far is learning what is expected of me, so I can do what I joined for, which is to help strengthen the union and help my fellow nurses.

What do you enjoy about being a cabinet member?

I have only attended one meeting, but so far, the one thing I do enjoy is how everyone on the cabinet is so warm and welcoming. You can clearly see they all care about nurses and that they will fight tooth and nail to make sure we get what we deserve. They have our backs!

Why is being involved in the union important?

Being on the bargaining team was such an eye-opening experience that I could not see myself not getting actively involved. I saw firsthand the way management is not about the nurse at all. We had to fight so hard for every little thing in the contract, and it just stunned me, so I decided then and there if I wanted better treatment for my fellow nurses, I had to step up my game and be a part of an organization that continuously fights for the nurses. So here I am, an active member on various committees and cabinets, trying to do just that.

I feel currently that nursing is one of the most undervalued and underappreciated careers, and we need to change that.

Paul Fuller

Cashmere — Gastroenterology nurse at Central Washington Hospital

What are your priorities as a cabinet member?

Making sure we are being prudent with our funds and increasing effective communication between our respective members and their union reps.

What do you enjoy about being a cabinet member?

I like being on the cabinet so I can give my co-workers a voice on the future of our union.

Why is being involved in the union important?

Being involved in the union is especially important in a rural area because we need to guide ourselves into the future to reach our members using new technology.

Jacob Garcia

Pasco — Medical-surgical nurse at Astria - Sunnyside Hospital

What are your priorities as a cabinet member?

My priorities are the well-being of our nurses in Washington. Safe staffing is also one of my priorities and ensuring our nurses are taken care of.

What do you enjoy about being a cabinet member?

I enjoy working together to make sure we are all successful in Washington. I also enjoy getting to know our nurses, working with people from different areas, and learning from each other!

Why is being involved with the union important?

Being involved in a union is so important; it makes sure you are taken care of and have a voice in your workplace. Alone, you are just one voice, but when we speak together as one voice, there is power in what we say, and we can make change happen.

Being part of a union makes it so we can advocate for nurses everywhere in Washington. We are stronger together.

Jon Olson

Kelso — Emergency department night shift designated charge nurse at St. John

What are your priorities as a cabinet member?

I am still new to the cabinet but hope to absorb as much knowledge as I can from a very stellar group of fellow cabinet members. I was heavily involved for the last 10 years with the Emergency Nurses Association as president and political affairs chair on the state board for most of those years. I hope to bring some of those experiences here and expand on them.

What do you enjoy about being a cabinet member?

It is important to have staff nurses on board positions along with a mix of other RN positions.

Why is being involved with the union important?

It is important to be involved in the representation that our dues help support. I was able to be a representative at the AFT convention this year and learned a lot about our connection with the AFT and what that does for nursing on the national level.

Strong representation from the union is important for general support, grievances, and association with like-minded RNs who seek security in one’s own career and advancement in one of the most trusted professions. That is what WSNA brings to new nurses and us seasoned nurses.