Vacation Process Clarification

On October 10/24/2022 your officer team met with administration and HR to discuss the new vacation process language.

This is a new and innovative tool designed to ensure equal access to blocks of vacation, however as with all new processes there are opportunities for error and miscommunication. Administration has assured your officers they do intend to communicate with nursing management to clarify the process for vacations.

FAQ:
Q: If I take vacation during the winter holiday block will I be on the bottom of the seniority list for the entire next year?
A: NO! You will be rotated to the bottom of the seniority list ONLY for the winter holiday prime time block the following year. We understand there has been miscommunication and we encourage you to reach out to your nursing leaders to discuss your vacation requests to determine if your request can be accommodated.

Q: If I am on a smaller unit can only one person be off at a time?
A: No – this language was removed from the contract. Current contract language (Article 9.2 section C), “Efforts made by the hospital shall include, but are not limited to, allowing at least two (2) nurses per day/evening and two nurses per evening/night shift per week (four (4) total per week) to be on paid leave (shift determined by majority of hours worked). The Hospital recognizes the importance of nurses being able to take accrued vacation.”

Q: Am I only allowed two blocks of vacation a year?
A: No. Current contract language (Article 9.2, Section B)

“After the initial vacation selection process has been completed and vacations published, beginning November 21, additional vacation requests can be entered into API for March 1 through February 28 (29 on leap-year) the following year.

Vacation requests made in this period must be for a minimum of 5 (five) days and may not exceed twenty-one (21) days in length. The employee must also send an email to the manager indicating they have submitted a rolling vacation request including the dates requested. Requests will be made not less than two months in advance of the beginning of the schedule period for which time off is requested.”

Scenario one: RN of 30 years places vacation request for 12/20 – 12/31 (more than 7 days) for calendar year 2023, in 2024 they will be on the bottom of the seniority list for winter prime time months only.

Scenario two: RN of 30 years places a vacation request for 12/20 – 12/27 (seven days) for the calendar year of 2023, in 2024 they will remain at the top of the seniority list for winter holidays.

We encourage you to speak with your manager regarding your vacation requests and/or speak with a WSNA officer or contact your nurse representative.

Unit Closure

We met with nursing leadership and HR to discuss the closure of PC1 and how the nurses who currently work on PC1 will be affected.

Management has assured us no affected nurse will be laid off and they will be reassigned to other PCU units.

We expressed concern for the operations of the Emergency department as decrease in inpatient beds will likely affect the number of hold hours in the ED. We have been informed by nursing leadership the intention is to increase staffing in the emergency department to accommodate the holds in the ED.

Staffing

If you are serving as a staffing chair on the staffing committee, please reach out to your WSNA nurse Rep – Shawn Mork (Reed) at sreed@wsna.org.

Upcoming Events:

• CWH/WSNA Staffing Committee 11/2/2022 3:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.
• CWH/WSNA Conference Committee 11/7/2022 3 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
• CWH/WSNA Nurse Practice/Safe Staffing Committee 11/14/2022 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
• WSNA Nurse Rep Cafeteria Time – Tuesday, 11/8/2022 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Tuesday, 11/15/2022 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Look for the tabletop blue WSNA banner and say hello!

In solidarity,
Sara Bergenholtz, WSNA CWH Chair
Paul Stamilio, WSNA CWH Co-Chair
Karla Bourgeois, WSNA CWH Secretary
Stefanie Gates, WSNA CWH Treasurer
Jasmine Hutichensen, WSNA CWH Grievance Officer
Paul Molenaar, WSNA CWH Membership Officer
Blaine Wuertz, WSNA CWH Membership Officer

Questions? Please contact any WSNA officer or email your nurse rep, Shawn Mork (Reed) sreed@wsna.org.