Contract negotiations

Our three-year collective bargaining agreement expires on June 21, 2022. Dedicated Fresenius nurses fought long and hard to obtain our first WSNA Union Contract in 2019. Now it is time to come together to negotiate an even stronger contract. The Bargaining Team needs to know your issues and priorities for your hours, wages, and working conditions.

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us prepare for negotiations.

WSNA member­ship — Together we are stronger

Remember to fill out your WSNA membership application. To have bargaining power, we need everyone! When it’s time to vote, you must be a member. Get started today by clicking below.

Nurse Practice Committee meeting

The next Nurse Practice Committee meeting will be held on March 8, 2022. This is our Quarterly Labor/Management meeting. If you have issues or concerns that you would like us to bring forward to manage­ment, please contact your Nurse Representative Janet Stewart jstewart@wsna.org.

WSNA Leadership Conference at Lake Chelan April 24-26 - scholarships available

Come to WSNA’s labor training event at Campbell’s Resort in Chelan April 24 – 26!

You will join nurses from around Washington state. We convene to build stronger local units, learn how to become more effec­tive leaders, hear updates about national and state labor scenes, celebrate our successes with awards, and strate­gize for what’s coming next.

Local unit officers at MultiCare Good Samaritan will sponsor two members who attend the conference — fully paying their registration fees, room, and mileage. You may be asked to share a hotel room. Contact your nurse representative if interested. Janet Stewart jstewart@wsna.org

For registration information, see https://www.wsna.org/calendar/union-leadership-conference/

Grievance Update:

WSNA has filed a griev­ance against Frese­nius for a contract viola­tion regarding wage disparities for some of our nurses

WSNA believes section 11 of article 14 was violated:
Article 14 – Wages and Other Compen­sa­tion
Section 10: No employee will have their wages reduced as a result of this agreement
Section 11: An existing nurse’s hourly rate shall not be less than newly hired nurses with compa­rable or less experi­ence.

WSNA first brought this to manage­ment’s attention at our September 2021 Nurse Practice Committee meeting. One affected nurse learned that they were making less than what new hires were making. Therefore, the nurse requested a wage increase. The nurse had been employed with Fresenius since 2017 and received 2.5% increases per year. Management denied their request “because of the union contract.” Because of Article 14 in the contract, we believe that any nurse who is harmed is entitled to a wage increase. WSNA filed a grievance in September for all affected nurses.

Since then, we have learned that management informed you of a wage increase effective January 23, 2022. That is excellent news! Congratulations! This shows how important it is to get in touch and take action.

However, that does not resolve our grievance. Our goal was and continues to be to seek back pay for the affected nurses. Instead of back pay, Fresenius offered to settle by paying a bonus. This would reward some but continue to harm the nurses whose wages were underpaid for a long time. The grievance has been advanced, so it remains open. We will continue our settlement discussions and seek to make everyone whole, and more! We will keep you informed as we pursue this matter and do what’s right for all of our members.

Please know that we will fight hard for fair and competitive living wages for everyone in the upcoming contract negotiations. You are WSNA and Together We Are Stronger!

Thank you,
Janet Stewart, WSNA Nurse Repre­sen­ta­tive
jstewart@wsna.org (206) 735‑6484

Zach Seikel, WSNA Organizer
zseikel@wsna.org (206) 659‑6713

Suzette Marengo, Local Unit Treasurer
marengosuzette@yahoo.com (253) 301‑8745