2010s: Feeling our power

WSNA joined forces with even bigger labor partners — the Washington State Labor Council and AFT. WSNA also took major action on rest and meal breaks, safe staffing, and workplace violence. And the association made a historic agreement with unions involved in the 1980s raids.

The Washington Nurse, Fall 2019

WSNA members, joined by members of UFCW21 and SEIU 1199, aced it in Olympia this year, gaining passage of a bill we’ve been working on for a decade.

Nurses sent thousands of emails to legislators, held one-on-one meetings with their elected representatives and rallied on the steps of the Capitol Building the very day the Rest Breaks and Overtime Protections bill passed the House and Senate. On May 8, Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill into law.

An unfortunate remark from one State Senator that nurses in rural hospitals “probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day” made international news after a WSNA blog post went viral. WSNA and our members were able to channel that outrage into an effective online and on-the-ground advocacy campaign that put nurses and other health care workers center stage.

You told your stories about missed breaks and shifts that run over by four or more hours due to the loophole in the current mandatory overtime law. You helped the legislature understand that this isn’t safe for workers or patients — and you ensured that this historic patient safety legislation was passed with bipartisan votes in both chambers.

You also ensured that your legislators understand that health care workers are facing an epidemic of workplace violence — at rates 20% higher than other industries. The likelihood of health care workers being exposed to violence is higher than prison guards or police officers. You bravely shared your stories about enduring harassment and violent behavior while doing your best to ensure quality care and humane treatment of all patients. The legislature listened and, in a rare event, unanimously passed the workplace violence prevention legislation we put forward in the first session it was introduced.

Nurses have powerful voices. This session showed that in spades.

One Strong Voice by Barbara Frye, published in 2019, documents the turbulent history of WSNA during the 1980s raids that nearly dismantled the organization. Frye spent five years researching, reviewing documents, and interviewing participants to capture these pivotal events. The book covers the formation of WSNA, unionizing challenges, and the struggle during the raids when competing unions tried to displace WSNA. Frye aimed to preserve these significant lessons, offering both historical insight and guidance for the future. This period was key to WSNA’s resilience and labor advocacy.

The Washington Nurse, Fall 2012

In a huge victory for patient safety, the nine justices of the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously upheld nurses’ statutory rights to be paid overtime when their duties prevent them from taking a rest period. In 2007, WSNA brought the legal action on behalf of the 1,200 registered nurses at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane to recover unpaid wages for denied rest periods.

Research confirms that nurses working long hours have decreased alertness and vigilance which can lead to patient harm. WSNA has been working for several years to ensure that nurses receive full, uninterrupted breaks because that dedicated time to rest can play a critical role in preventing fatigue and fatigue-related errors.

The Court held that SHMC had extracted additional labor from the RNs when they missed rest periods. The unanimous decision provides a powerful incentive for hospitals to adequately staff for rest breaks.

The Washington Nurse, Summer 2014

With a looming budget shortfall, Public Health—Seattle-King County will be forced to slash their budget for 2015 and the results could be disastrous. Nurses at Seattle-King County are mobilizing and engaging the public to speak out now during the county’s budget process to ensure that Public Health is adequately funded and the health safety net in King County is maintained. WSNA has been working non-stop since learning about the department’s drastic cuts and proposed public health clinic closures.

The elimination of programs such as Maternity Support Services, Family Planning, WIC, and Nurse-Family Partnership will impact hundreds of thousands of people including our most vulnerable populations. WSNA is doing everything we can to prevent these shortsighted and dangerous cuts including meeting with government officials, participating in coalition activities to prevent the cuts, conveying timely information about the budget to the local unit, and creating outreach materials and advocacy tools like petitions and postcards. WSNA is proud of the Seattle King County nurses who are spending countless hours out at farmers’ markets, fairs, city council meetings and more in an effort to educate people about this looming crisis and we are supporting those efforts in every way possible.

“As nurses, we know that budget decisions like this can have life or death consequences for people in our community. While these evidence-based programs are proven to have a strong return on investment, the cost in quality of life and life itself is the most unacceptable outcome. It drives the passion we all share in this effort. WSNA is doing everything we can to prevent these shortsighted and dangerous cuts. Seattle-King County public health nurses have the support of our entire organization,” Judy Huntington, MN, RN, WSNA Executive Director.W

Several clinics were saved as a result of members’ advocacy and hard work.

WSNA Executive Director Sally Watkins, PhD, RN, led the organization through the upheaval of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and acted as a spokesperson for nurses locally, nationally, and internationally.