CONTRACT RATIFICATION VOTE

January 28, 2020

Times: noon—2 p.m. and 5—8 p.m.

Room: TBI Conference Room

Remember: You must be a member to vote

Great News – Your negotiation team reached a tentative agreement for a first collective bargaining agreement with the Franciscan Specialty Care, LLC. Thanks to your support, we have accomplished many important goals. Your Team is proud to unanimously recommend a YES vote!

First contracts are always hard to achieve. Your team stood toe to toe with Kindred to reach an agreement that includes the important elements of a union contract and creates the foundation for nurses to advocate for ourselves and our patients.

Full copies of the draft agreement will be available at ratification for review. Your WSNA bargaining team will also be there to help answer any questions. Come to the ratification vote to find out more!

Highlights include:

Economics

• Wage Increases – Raises will be guaranteed and no longer be tied to performance appraisals. Increases will occur every 6 months during the term of the 3-year contract. 6/20 – 1.25%, 12/20 – 1.75%, 6/21 – 1.25%, 12/21 – 1.5%, 6/22 – 1.25% and 12/22 – 1.5%.
• Wage Scale for New Hires – Raises for current nurses will be based on your current wage rate. Newly hired nurses will be hired at a rate based on their years of experience for up to 10 years. After 6 months of service, newly hired nurses will receive the same wage increases as other nurses.
• Maximum Wage Rate – Current nurses are eligible to receive all wage increases. Nurses hired after the ratification of the contract will have a maximum wage rate of $50. A nurse hired after the ratification of the contract who makes more than $50 will earn a bonus equivalent to the wage increase in lieu of a wage increase.
• Per diem nurses – Per diem nurses will earn $43/hour. For the majority of current per diem nurses, this will be a significant increase.
• CRRN Differential and Bonus – Effective 12/21, increase from the current $0.75 to $1. We have preserved the current $500 bonus for the term of the contract.
• Weekend Differential – Increase by 25 cents on 12/20, 25 cents on 12/21, 25 cents on 6/22, 25 cents on 12/22
• Sick Leave – The hospital will provide paid sick leave as required by Washington law equivalent to 1 hour of leave for every 40 hours worked. For full time and part time nurses, this is a reduction from your current accrual rate. Full time and part time nurses affected by this reduction will receive a wage increase of 25 cents to compensate for this reduction. Full time and part time nurses are still eligible to use PTO time for illness. In addition, all nurses who work at least 820 hours in a qualifying period (about 1 year) are eligible to receive benefits under the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave Act. Note: hours worked at another job count towards the work requirement. For more information, go to www.paidleave.wa.gov.
• Health Savings Account – Qualified nurses will receive $350/$700 per year in an HSA for the term of the contract.

Our Voice – Advocating for Nurses and Patients

• Just Cause protection – Nurses will no longer be at-will employees. The hospital will only be able to discipline or discharge a nurse if the employer can meet the legal standard of just cause.
• WSNA representation in an investigation – Strong language to make it clear that you have the right to ask for and receive representation if you are being called into a meeting that you reasonably believe could lead to your discipline.
• Grievance Procedure – Nurses will have an ability to resolve any disputes about the interpretation or implementation of our contract through a grievance procedure. If necessary, we will be able to submit grievances to a neutral arbitrator for resolution. Your contract is a legal document and the grievance procedure ensures that we can hold the hospital accountable to the agreements they have made.
• Seniority and Layoff Language – The principle of seniority is an important element of a union contract. Respect for seniority is most important in a layoff situation. In the unlikely event of a reduction of force, the hospital will be required to protect the nurses who have been here the longest.
• Union Rights and Security – Your union, WSNA, is the vehicle that we will use to bring about positive changes. Your bargaining team placed great emphasis on making sure that our contract provides us with the tools to build a strong union at the hospital. We are pleased to have secured language that recognizes WSNA as the exclusive bargaining agent for nurses at the hospital, mandates the hospital to collect our union dues for us and facilitates better communication by requiring the hospital to provide accurate contact information on the nurses who work here.
• Conference Committee – We will have a contractually created committee to sit down with hospital administration and talk through problems and concerns from both sides. We know that better communication leads to better outcomes.
• Staffing Committee – The hospital will be required to meet with nurses to determine the hospital’s staffing plan. The committee, comprised of 50% nurses, is also charged with resolving any complaints from nurses related to staffing. This committee needs to hear from you! Nurses should be filling out Assignment Despite Objection forms on a regular basis. These forms are easily accessible and completed. Please go to www.wsna.org/union/ado.

Questions? Contact Hanna Welander, WSNA Nurse Representative at 206-575-7979, ext. 3035 or hwelander@wsna.org