1. Equal credit for international nurses

Nurses with prior experience in other countries are given full credit for years worked, not half as the hospital had been doing. A Filipino nurse, for example, is going from step 16 to step 24. About 28 nurses at St. Joseph’s are affected. 

“Nurses with international experience bring immense expertise and unique perspectives to healthcare. A nurse’s value should not be defined by their country of origin but by the quality of care they provide, the lives they impact, and the compassion they offer...As international RNs, we finally feel seen as whole professionals, not just half the nurses we were once perceived to be.” — Kathleen (Kat) Jabasa, Operating Room

2. Ready to strike

WSNA delivered the first strike notice to management in decades. The notice was from nurses in two units — the cardiac catheterization lab and electrophysiology (EP). Management had demanded these nurses take unscheduled call shifts with only a few hours’ notice, or be placed on administrative leave if they refused (one nurse was out of state on a holiday, one was on their first day back from parental leave and had to find a sitter for their 2-week old) and the state Department of Labor and Industries had fined the hospital multiple times for violations of the mandatory overtime law.

“We're tired, we're not heard, we feel used and abused and that is why Cath Lab and EP Lab procedural staff are here and saying we are going to go on strike.” — Avalon Perez-Adams, Cath Lab

3. A call system

The number call shifts each nurse must take is now based on a calculation — the total number of call shifts needed divided by the number of nurses working if the unit is staffed according to the staffing plan. Standby pay is on tiers from $6 an hour to $26 an hour depending on the exigency of the circumstances.

“When we're at work, we're all in at work, but we [also] have the right to be all in with our family.” — Kim McKinnon, Cath Lab charge nurse, regarding the hospital’s “drop everything because you’re now on call” demands.

4. Higher wages

Nurses have the highest base starting wage in Pierce County and the highest 25-year step wage in the state. 

“ That’s one of the things I absolutely love about nursing is that we really look at things as a team sport. If it can benefit one, it can benefit all of us.” — Sarah Guillen, EP Lab

5. Night shift longevity bonus

Nurses with five years or greater experience who work on night shift will receive an annual bonus.

"Medical emergencies don't stop when the sun goes down. Having nurses with experience on the night shift helps bridge that resource gap and ensures the next generation of nurses are trained to provide the same safe and quality care." — Jess Lenczycki, Labor and Delivery night shift

6. Break nurses

This is the first WSNA contract that guarantees an actual number of break nurses — 26. These nurses do NOT have patient assignments beyond caring for the patients of a nurse who can then take an uninterrupted break.

"Our job as nurses is to care for our patients and that is our main goal. We want our hospital to focus on patient care and providing a safe workplace so we can give the care we want to give." — Kate Frazier, Med Surg break nurse

7. Weapons detector

The hospital is piloting a weapons detector in the emergency room — the second hospital in Virginia Mason Franciscan Health to achieve this. WSNA nurses at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle fought for and won the first weapons detector in 2023. As WSNA lead negotiator Pamela Chandran said, “Virginia Mason was the snowplow.” 

“I was trained to be a healthcare worker. I wasn’t trained in self-defense or having to deal with weapons. This is not part of the job. It shouldn’t be part of the job.” — Matthew McGuire, Emergency Department

8. Online voting

This was the first time WSNA held a ratification vote for a full contract online and it was very successful. 

"Online voting was fast, easy, efficient, and perfect for employees not at work...or even in the country." — Teresa (TK) Kindell, Med-Surg

9. PAC contributions

Nurses can now have WSNA PAC donations taken out of their paycheck — a big step in dramatically strengthening nurses’ voices in Olympia. 

 “If just 10% of the more than 100,000 nurses in Washington state gave $5 a month, we could raise over $600,000 annually.” — Jessica Hauffe, WSNA Government Affairs Director 

10. Staffing plan

Contract language now requires that the 50% plus one vote majority necessary to pass a staffing plan must include the vote of at least one WSNA Hospital Staffing Committee member.

“We deserve to know that we have the staffing we need to take care of our patients and ourselves.” — Carina Price, Cardiac ICU