Our sixth bargaining session on November 11 saw an impressive turnout from our extended bargaining team. So many nurses joined us that extra chairs had to be brought in! Thanks to Team WSNA and our CAT Team members for showing up in such strong numbers.

Some of our Proposals and Priorities

In this session, we presented a comprehensive proposal aimed at making meaningful progress on critical issues, including:

• Improved staffing, including break relief nurses, to ensure quality patient care and necessary breaks
• Year-for-year credit for nursing experience on the step scale
• Increased wages – a proposal for a three year contract that removes ghost steps in year one. Our year one proposal is for a $2.00 per hour raise which helps close some disparity between the lowest and other steps,  plus an additional 9 percent increase in year one. (The Employer proposed merely 3.5% in year one, with existing steps.)
• Improved ability for you to take time off to be able to provide the best patient care
• Explicit Just Cause protection for all WSNA Nurses
• Extending the MOU for incentive pay to address immediate staffing needs
• Including the Hospice Care Center in the Hospital Staffing Committee
• Changes in the EHCS Addendum to include daily overtime for nurses, and fair mileage reimbursement.
• Addressing Evergreen’s punitive sick leave policy

A number of team members voiced their support for our robust staffing proposal, which provides a comprehensive approach that focuses on safe staffing ratios that remain in place even during nurse rest breaks. We see this as a shared interest with the Employer, aligning with both patient care excellence and the well-being of our nurses.

The Realities of Staffing and Incentive Pay

Nurses on our team spoke out about the challenges of high census, increased acuity, and staffing shortages. We also highlighted the Employer’s refusal to extend the MOU for incentive pay, which many find frustrating and a deterrent to coming in for extra shifts. While we emphasized that adequate staffing should reduce the regular need for incentive pay, we see its importance in covering emergent and unexpected staffing gaps. While the Employer claims some of its proposals will address staffing through flexibility, the Employer’s proposals fail to get at our core staffing concerns. Even the Employer admitted that it does not know whether its proposals will definitively result in improved staffing.

Year-for-Year Credit and Wage Equity

Two nurses on our team shared personal stories in support of year-for-year credit for nursing experience. One nurse described how she is underpaid relative to her years of experience, with 18 years as an RN but a base pay equivalent to that of a 12.5-year nurse. As a per diem nurse, she faces additional challenges, including being first in line for call-offs, which complicates her ability to balance work and family care alongside her spouse, who also works in healthcare. She loves working at Evergreen and contributes by participating on committees, in UBC, and as a charge nurse.

Another nurse highlighted how the current system, which prioritizes hours at the bedside over years of experience, can have a discriminatory impact on working parents and contribute to the gender wage gap. Nurses who take time to care for family members should not be penalized.

Thank you to all the nurses who stood up and shared their stories and insights. Your voices are crucial in these discussions. Let's keep the momentum going!

Advocating for Just Cause for Per Diem Nurses

We have proposed explicit language in the contract that Just Cause applies to all per diem nurses. Just Cause is essential for fair treatment, including progressive discipline and the requirement for a fair investigation and proof of wrongdoing before termination. Despite this, the Employer has not only rejected this proposal but has proposed to extend probation periods for all nurses, during which nurses could be terminated without Just Cause.

Take Action Now!

• Have you signed our petition yet?  If not email sscholl@wsna.org  to get in touch with a CAT member in your department. If you want to join the Contract Action Team (CAT) to help out let us know and we’ll get you started!:
  
  
• Are you a member? If not, become a member by filling out the membership form found here. This makes a powerful statement to management that we will not settle for what Evergreen is offering:

Calendar of upcoming events

Thursday, November 14 – Virtual update meeting with the Bargaining and Contract Action Teams.
Log in virtually to join the Team, we want to hear from you! This will be an ongoing opportunity for us to stay in touch and spread the word. We hope you can join us. We are looking at Thursday mornings and Monday evenings for these regular meetings to try and accommodate as many of you as possible.

Tuesday, November 19 – Bargaining Session #7

Wednesday, November 20 – Bargaining Session #8
Join us for bargaining, or even just swing by and grab a WSNA shirt. We will in Tan 250 and have lots of T-shirts on hand for anyone who hasn’t picked one up yet.  If you are interested in staying for bargaining, please RSVP with Crystal at cdoll@wsna.org
 
Tuesday, November 19
Evergreen Board of Commissioners Meeting – Tan Building Lobby at 6 pm
Let’s make the boardroom blue! We will gather and meet up beforehand in the front entrance and lobby of the Tan building. Public Comment period is at the beginning of the meeting at 6:30 pm. Bring people, coworkers, family, concerned community members.

If you are coming or are interested in possibly speaking as part of the WSNA Team, please RSVP at localofficers@eh-nurses.com

Thursday, November 21 at 8 am
Virtual update meeting with the Bargaining and Contract Action Teams.
Log in virtually to join the Team, we want to hear from you! This will be an ongoing opportunity for us to stay in touch and spread the word. We hope you can join us. We are looking at Thursday mornings and Monday evenings to try and accommodate as many of you as possible.

Monday, November 25 at 8 pm
Virtual update meeting with the Bargaining and Contract Action Teams.
Log in virtually to join the Team, we want to hear from you! This will be an ongoing opportunity for us to stay in touch and spread the word. We hope you can join us. We are looking at Thursday mornings and Monday evenings to try and accommodate as many of you as possible.

In solidarity,
Your bargaining team,
Theresa Blazer, Alicia O’Neall, Nikki Paulson, Sandy Gott, Ryan O’Neill Hawkins, Carol Flaming, Jaclyn Miller, Karen Lasota, Lexi Overa

Questions? Contact your WSNA Officers at localofficers@eh-nurses.com.

Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Bret Percival at bpercival@wsna.org.