Your bargaining team is pleased to announce that we have a tentative agreement for a new contract! There are numerous increases in premiums and wages and improvements in working conditions.

TERM:           3 years.  Contract will expire on December 31, 2027.

WAGES:        7% (Effective retroactive to the first full pay period after 1/1/25).  The wage increases will be in place no later than 60 days after ratification and the retroactive pay will be in place no later than 90 days after ratification.                       
                        5% (Effective first full pay period after 1/1/26). 
                        4.25% (Effective first full pay period after 1/1/27).
 
STEP ENHANCEMENTS:  After step 15, some of the step increases are less than 1%.  We were able to increase those steps to 1% above the previous step.  This means that any nurse above step 15 will receive more than a 7% increase in the first year because of the step adjustment.

Premiums, benefits and other compensation

Medical Insurance Premiums.  Currently, the employer pays 80% of insurance premiums while employees pay 20%. Effective January 1, 2026, the employer will pay 85% of insurance premiums while employees will pay 15%.

Nurse Trainer Premium.  Increased from $2.00 per hour to $2.50 per hour.

Night Shift Differential.  Effective May 1, 2025, increased from $4.00 to $5.00 per hour.

Weekend Differential.  Effective May 1, 2025, increased from $4.00 to $4.50 per hour.

Dress and Uniforms.  Currently, nurses are entitled to up to $225 reimbursement for uniform items and professional equipment.  Now nurses will receive up to $250 for reimbursement after six months of consecutive employment.

Vacations.  Effective January 1, 2026, nurses with 15 years or more of service shall receive six weeks of vacation per year.

Sick Leave.  New language that prohibits AMR from requiring proof of illness for absences of three days or less.

Benefit Plans.  New language shortening the waiting period for eligibility for benefit plans from 90 consecutive days of employment to 30 consecutive days of employment.

Other issues

Non-Harassment and Discrimination.  New language prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Limit on the Number of Part-Time Nurses.  Currently the AMR is prohibited from having part time nurses comprise more than 40% of the regularly scheduled nurses within the bargaining unit. We agreed to remove this provision as it may make AMR less attractive to nurses seeking part time work.

Station Equipment.  The parties agreed to discuss the cleanliness of stations in Conference Committee.

Posting of Vacancies.  New language requiring that the employer post a notice of all vacancies on Telestaff and on the same day e-mail the notice containing the same information as the posted notice to all bargaining unit employees.

Nurse Responsibility for Loss or Damage to Property Caused by Another Nurse.  We removed troubling language in the current contract which subjected a nurse to liability for property damage or loss caused by their fellow nurse crew member’s dishonesty or willful acts.

Clocking in and Clocking Out.  New language replacing the current “15-minute rounding” system to a “pay for every minute worked” system. This system will ensure that nurses are paid for all time worked and not underpaid in certain situations. Nurses shall not be subject to corrective action as the result of their clocking in early or clocking out late within 7 minutes.

Employer-Required Training.  New language requiring the employer to attempt to have employees complete the training on a scheduled shift. In the event that this cannot occur, employees shall be paid overtime, when applicable, for training completed off shift. However, employees shall not be entitled to holiday overtime pay to complete the training.

Your WSNA bargaining team recommends a "YES" vote!

WSNA will be conducting an electronic vote which will begin at 1730 on February 18 and conclude at 1730 on February 19. You will have 24 hours to cast your vote.

Your WSNA Nurse Representative will be on site at the Tukwila office location from 11 am to 1 pm on February 19 to answer any questions you may have about the contract  changes or the voting process.

In Solidarity,
Ed Zercher WSNA Nurse Representative
ezercher@wsna.org