Bargaining unit meeting for Fresenius nurses

Please join in Virtually on Tuesday, March 15 at 9:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m.

This will be an opportunity to learn more about WSNA, Upcoming Contract Negotiations, and bring forward your questions and concerns.

We hope to see you there. You will need to download Microsoft Teams on your device. We will send a text reminder to those we have phone numbers for.

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.

Nurse Practice Committee meeting

We had our Quarterly Nurse Practice Committee meeting on March 8. We discussed issues and concerns you have brought forward. WSNA may not agree with all their responses, but I am reporting what was said.

Mandatory OT: WSNA has issued 3 Cease and Desists on Mandatory OT (1/12, 1/26 and 2/21), mostly as it has recently related to the Acute Nurses being overscheduled. Fresenius denies putting nurses into Mandatory OT; says the nurses are volunteering. Once it was attributed to lapse of communication with schedulers. Please keep me informed when the employer puts you into situations which leave you little to no ability to refuse going into unwanted overtime. Submit ADOs (Union Staffing Complaint Form).

1. Increased Call: The frequency of on call shifts depends on business needs. They try to limit it to 1-2 times per week. They try to rotate it so you don’t have multiple weeks of 2 per week. This can depend on vacations and illnesses. Currently there is no written policy or contract language on this subject.
2. Floating Outside of Region (Acute): You can expense your travel time and mileage from the location of your normal assignment to the assigned location, including toll expenses. You need to use the SAP Concur App. They are rotating staff to go to SMMC in Silverdale. When asked about going to a hospital that you are not oriented to, they responded that there’s a regular technician there who can meet you in the lobby and show you where to go and to find the equipment.
3. SRN Tandem Model for running more than 1 HD patient for Acute Nurses: WSNA issued a Cease and Desist on this model which has an HD RN working with 1-2 Techs or Newer RNs to run up to 3 Patients in the ICU with the Supervising RN (SRN) holding the responsibility for these patients. There are several reasons WSNA cites as to why this should not be practiced, to include it’s potentially unsafe for patients and puts the RN and Tech licenses at risk if there’s a negative outcome; the patients are often not in close proximity; the policy is written to deal with the COVID-19 Surge, not because of short staffing; The policy is a change in working conditions that was not negotiated with the Union; There is an expectation for technicians and newer nurses to run potentially unstable ICU level patients, with the SRN holding the responsibility.

Whenever you are informed of an assignment that you feel is unsafe, elevate your concerns immediately to your supervisor before accepting the assignment. If you have already accepted the assignment, then refusal could lead to discipline. Fill out an ADO Staffing Complaint Form. Note, the ADO helps protect your license if there’s an unfavorable patient outcome.

Grievance update

Article 14, Section 11: An existing nurse’s hourly rate shall not be less than newly hired nurses with compa­rable or less experi­ence.

Because of this grievance filed in September 2021, some nurses were awarded a pay increase effective January 23, 2022 if a newer nurse with lesser experience was given a higher hourly rate. WSNA is scheduling the Step 2 Meeting on this grievance to work toward getting backpay for the affected nurses or a reasonable settlement that makes all nurses whole. Feel free to contact me by text or email if you have any questions.

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

You are invited to attend WSNA’s labor training event at Campbell’s Resort in Chelan April 24-26!

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/

WSNA member­ship — Together we are stronger

Remember to fill out your WSNA membership application. To have bargaining power, we need everyone! Get started today by clicking below. New on-line application now available.

Learn more

LINK for ADO Staffing Complaint Form: Staffing Complaint / ADO Form - WSNA

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