We met with management twice this week to bargain over the terms that will be in our first contract.

Bargaining session 22 took place on Tuesday, November 19, and both management’s representatives and our team met with the federal mediator to discuss where things stand and what we need to get to a final deal. As we mentioned in our previous newsletters, when we’re working with a federal mediator during bargaining, our negotiations are confidential; we can’t share details about our conversations at the table. What we can share is that it was a long day for both teams and the mediator pushed us to have difficult (but valuable) conversations about our priorities and must-have items.

Bargaining session 23, on the other hand, was a surprise traditional bargaining day! We had to move forward without the mediator, as she was unable to facilitate due to the extraordinary weather on the west side of the state. For the first time in several sessions, we had a productive bargaining day full of good conversations between the teams; many of the topics we covered were the same ones the mediator had pushed us to think through earlier in the week, so her work with us was very helpful even when she wans’t at the table with us. We’re looking forward to meeting with her again at our next session.

On Thursday we reached agreements with management on several of our significant outstanding items:

• Pool nurse language identifying availability and work requirements, rules for scheduling, and protections for pool nurses who need to use paid sick leave
• Terms for the hospital’s use of temporary nurse positions
• Definitions for standard workdays and innovative schedules at Mares
• Discipline language that ensures nurses in our bargaining unit will not be subject to arbitrary or unreasonable discipline. This agreement covers one of the biggest benefits of a union contract: protection from discipline without just cause.

And a HIGHLIGHT: We agreed on rules for weekend work! This was a huge priority for Mares nurses when we first organized. Management agreed that nurses at Mares will only be required to work their fair share of weekend shifts within their own unit. That means weekend work will continue as usual for nurses whose units are open and nurses won’t be expected to work weekends if their unit is closed. And though management assured us it has no plans to open new units over the weekend, they agreed that we have the right to bargain over how that decision would impact nurses, ensuring Mares RNs will have a voice at the table if Confluence ever makes this change down the line.

We delivered your petitions!

At Thursday’s session, we delivered your signed petitions to management after a robust conversation about the items that are still on the table. We reminded them that it’s not just our bargaining team at the table – it’s all of their nurses – and we all want to get a deal done as soon as we can. They assured us they want to reach a deal as much as we do and that they will have responses to our remaining proposals next time we meet.

Some RNs have asked what’s still left on the to-do list. Management needs to respond to a number of our proposals on key issues. Here’s what’s currently in their court:

• Union Security
• Membership for Residents
• SANE nurse roles
• Define rates of pay and OT
• Wages
• Rules for PTO
• Scheduling
• Seniority
• Retirement
• Workplace Violence
• Nurse Staffing Committee
• No Strike Clause
• Length of CBA

We have asked for next bargaining dates with the federal mediator and will update you when our next session is confirmed.

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining team
Chris Gallup, OR, Co-Chair
Marshall Snoddy, OR, Co-Chair
Megan Baute, GI, Secretary
Caitlin Orange, GI, Treasurer
Mateo Maestas, OR, Grievance Officer
Rochelle Mason, ED, Membership Officer
Waikele Frantz, Rehab/ Medsurg, Unit Liaison

Questions/Concerns? Contact Laurie Robinson, WSNA Nurse Representative, 206-620-4136,  lrobinson@wsna.org.

For more information on how you can get involved contact Jenny Galassi, Nurse Organizer, 206-707-2948, jgalassi@wsna.org.