Your bargaining team completed their 9^th session with Confluence Tuesday March. We had observers both days and Management noticed. Thursday evening March 8 your Local unit officers and bargaining team member, Megan Baute, a GI nurse hosted our first Virtual bargaining update. She presented information on Seniority and how to understand Step placement on a wage scale. Thank you for joining us- we will have another one again soon!

There were some concerns that came up during caucus at bargaining. We want to address a few of them here.

The bargaining team is stacked with OR and GI nurses. How do I know they’ll speak for our unit?

The bargaining team is made up of nurses elected from GI, OR and ED. Often nurses that work closely get involved in union work together. Since then, they’ve used a few tools to make sure they address the interests of nurses throughout the facility during bargaining. For example, last fall we asked you to fill out a bargaining survey. Those results were compiled and read through during team bargaining prep. Waikele Frantz, a 3rd floor nurse, has regularly joined us at the table as a contributing member. Her insight and feedback have been invaluable. We have also had Haley Widness and Tanya Cates from the PACU join us, and March 4 & 5 several RNs across all units joined us to talk about issues specific to their units so we could develop proposals with their needs in mind. Every bargaining session is open to observers. You can come join us anytime and provide input for your unit. Ask an officer about the difference it makes.

Why is the bulletin board in our breakroom important?

The bargaining team is communicating to nurses in several different ways for a reason. We recognize that nurses are busy, and information needs to be easy to find. Some folks like to get that on our closed FB group, others prefer a text, and several have said email is still best. Some nurses don’t get emails on their phone and find the bulletin board is easy to glance at during their breaks. The most important thing is that you stay informed and talk with your coworkers. Choose a method that works best for you to stay up-to-date with negotiations. If you have any ideas of other ways, we can keep you informed, please let us know so we can share info with you on your terms.

Bargaining continues: How can you help?

Observers Wanted!

We meet Confluence back at the bargaining table on Thursday March 28. They said they hope to respond to our wage proposal that day. Let’s show them how much this unit cares about fair and transparent wages and get every nurse that is available to come as an observer. Your WSNA blue T-shirt and additional WSNA swag will be at bargaining on March 28!

On shift that day? Reach out to your WSNA Organizer Jenny Galassi, 206-707-2948, for a shirt to wear on bargaining days so you can show your support on the job.

More ways to help

• On bargaining days wear your “I support the Bargaining Team” button or sticker. These can be found on your WSNA bulletin board.
• Take a picture with nurses on your unit and post it to our closed Facebook group or public Instagram.

WSNA Membership applications are live.

Why should you join WSNA now?

The number of nurses involved in their local unit and observing at the bargaining table shows Confluence that you are united. Management knows every nurse who joins the union is another nurse who won’t back down. The bargaining team noticed the difference member support can make during our most recent bargaining sessions. On Feb 29 Confluence told the team they were lucky to be getting anything, and that nurses had their chance last year when they could have joined Central’s bargaining unit. At our next two sessions on Monday March 4 and Tuesday March 5 nurses from every unit were present as observers and management’s tune changed. They saw that it wasn’t just the team at the table behind our proposals and we reached tentative agreements on several items. Your presence and membership matter. Become a member today. Print the app and give it to a Local unit officer or fill out the electronic version if you prefer. Local unit officers will also have hard copies of the application this week.

Electronic version
Print version

We don’t have a contract yet, so what difference does it make?

Confluence Admin continues to make proposals at the bargaining table that are just copy and paste language from Central’s contract. For example, during our 7^th session on Feb 29, they proposed that Mares nurses adopt Central’s complicated vacation language. Repeatedly what we heard from the Mares nurses is that you did not want that same language because you need language tailored to meet your needs. Mares is a smaller unit, and Central’s language isn’t necessary here. We reminded them of those principles in front of RN observers at our session on March 4 and when management returned to the table on March 5 they finally brought us language that recognizes our unit’s needs.  We need to keep showing Confluence that we are nurses at the Mares Campus, and becoming a member shows management that we know who we are and are invested in our workplace now and in the future. Become a member today, with the facility code, Mares on the Membership application.

*Member dues cannot be deducted until we have a full tentative agreement on our first contract and your bargaining unit votes to approve it. We’ll let you know when that’s coming. Until then, becoming a member shows management the team has your support.

Local unit liaison training:

Local unit liaisons help keep nurses on their unit informed. They function as a connection between your Local unit officers and the nurses on your unit, so everyone stays in the loop regardless of their shift, schedule, or FTE. If you read your emails and texts, attend bargaining as an observer, provide feedback to WSNA and your bargaining team, and know where the WSNA Mares Local unit page is, you are already doing the work and would make a great local unit liaison. Sign up for 1-hour virtual training to learn more about how you can help support your local unit.

Next Training: Monday March 25 7-8pm. Please reach out to your Local unit officers or WSNA Organizer Jenny Galassi, 206-707-2948 to get signed up!

Questions/Concerns: Contact Shawn Mork, WSNA Nurse Representative, 206-620-4246, sreed@wsna.org

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