Update on MultiCare Overpayments due to Kronos Outage

Since the Kronos Outage of November 2021-January 2022, WSNA has been working with a triple coalition of unions (WSNA, SEIU-1199 NW, and UFCW-3000) and an outside law firm in an attempt to halt the overpayments which MultiCare was deducting from some of your paychecks.

• We were successful in halting MultiCare’s process of overpayment deductions and none should have occurred since the first deduction occurred in March 2022.
• We obtained a permanent injunction on October 14, 2022.
• MultiCare is appealing that order. July 19, 2023, a three-judge panel heard arguments from both sides. The main issue is whether MultiCare’s payments were “infrequent” and “inadvertent” within the meaning of WAC 296-126-030.
• If we win, they might still try to appeal to the Washington Supreme Court, but the court doesn’t have to accept their appeal.
• If they win, they will likely try to proceed with the deductions.
• WSNA still has a ULP (Unfair Labor Practice) charge pending before Region 19 alleging that the deductions are illegal for the separate reason that MultiCare proceeded with deductions without fulfilling its bargaining obligations. This is a separate issue from its obligation under state law to obtain individual employee consent before making wage deductions, which is the issue in the Court of Appeals.

We will update you as we know more about this case.  Thank you for your patience.

Officer Elections

Your local unit officer ballots have been mailed to you.  Please take a few moments to vote for your union officers (3 year term) and mail it back using the postage paid envelope. Deadline: Postmarked by August 18, 2023. 

If you did not receive a ballot, WSNA may not have your current mailing address. Please email jstewart@wsna.org to update your address. Only members in good standing are eligible to cast a vote.

Sip-and-Chat

No sip and chat this week.  Next one scheduled for August 24 at 8 p.m.

The current plan is to have Sip and Chat twice a month – 2^nd and 4^th  Thursday.

Questions/Concerns, contact one of your local unit officers, whose contact information can be found at  https://www.wsna.org/union/good-samaritan-hospital,  or WSNA Nurse Representative Janet Stewart at jstewart@wsna.org.