On Monday evening, MultiCare CEO Bill Robertson responded to our invitation to an open town hall with a resounding NO. In his response to us, he stated that “constructive dialogue between MultiCare and WSNA at the bargaining table will result in a fair and equitable agreement that addresses the needs and concerns of our employees while maintaining the competitiveness of our business”. As we approach our 15^th bargaining session on Friday (a record for Good Samaritan!), we have yet to see this “constructive dialogue” adequately address staffing and breaks, along with other issues like per diem scheduling, callback pay, and bargaining unit work. We deserve a leadership team that does more than talk – we need to see action from Bill Robertson and the rest of MultiCare leadership.

Until we see concrete steps being taken by Bill to step up, do his job, and listen to the nurses that keep his facilities running, we are not confident in his ability to lead MultiCare. Because of this, we are taking a Vote of No Confidence on May 16, provided we don’t reach a Tentative Agreement on bargaining on May 12. This vote of no confidence shows MultiCare that we’re tired of a lack of transparency and are willing to escalate until we have a fair contract for our coworkers, patients, and community.

This vote will be held outside of the employee parking lot C, on 14^th Ave SE – look for the WSNA tent! You can cast your ballot on your way to or from work, or drive up if it’s your day off. We’ll be there from 0630-0930, 1100-1400, and 1700-2000. If you are not able to physically cast a ballot that day, please email GSHaction@wsna.org to request an absentee ballot.

Sip and Chat Tonight!

Tonight at 8:00 we’ll talk more about what this vote of no confidence looks like and how we got to this point. Dial in, or join via the teams link below!

Bargaining Session #15 is on Friday!

If you’re interested in joining as an observer, contact organizer Grace. This session, management will be responding to our staffing proposal. Observers usually come at noon, and sessions can go on for awhile – be prepared to hunker down and see what the process looks like!

Blue Friday

Upper level management is instructing managers to discipline nurses for wearing the WSNA T-Shirts. Management is violating federal labor law by doing this, and WSNA has filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board.

In the meantime, if management asks you to remove your shirt and threatens you with discipline, comply (you may receive discipline for insubordination if you don’t). If you are called in for an investigatory meeting regarding T-shirts, notify Nurse Representative Janet Stewart (jstewart@wsna.org) immediately!

Even if you’re not at work on Friday, you can wear your WSNA blue to show our community that we’re standing in solidarity with our bargaining team. Wear your blue scrubs, buttons, badge reels, sticker up, and get creative. Send in your pictures to our Instagram @GSHnurses to spread the union spirit!

This nurses week, we want more than coloring books and coffee carts from MultiCare – we want a fair contract that treats us with respect!

In solidarity, your bargaining team:

Mindy Thornton, Jared Richardson, Aaron Bradley, Raeli Korzeniecki, Dawn Morrell, Anne Landen, Ashley Eubanks, Atalia Lapkin, Erin Butler, and Paul Grantham

If you’d like to observe bargaining; want to know how you can get more involved with your union, contact Organizer Grace Lamonte GLamonte@wsna.org.

Questions/Issues, contact Janet Stewart, WSNA Nurse Representative jstewart@wsna.org.