International nurse grievance

Historically, nurses hired at MultiCare with international nursing experience are only credited 1 year on the pay scale for every 2 years of experience (2:1); while nurses from the USA and Canada receive full credit (1:1) for their past nursing experience. As of May 2021, MultiCare has changed its practice and is now crediting qualifying international experience as 1:1. This is great news for new hires; however MultiCare has not agreed to do this for past hires.

WSNA filed a grievance on June 8, 2021 for all affected nurses and is still fighting this through the grievance process. We have just advanced the grievance to Step 3. MultiCare has not provided me the names of those who may be affected, but we have found 19 nurses by word of mouth.

If you are an international nurse who has listed relevant international experience of 1 or more years on your initial application to MultiCare, and didn’t receive full credit, please contact me ASAP, but no later that Oct. 25, 2021, so you can be included in this grievance. If I already have your name and have been in contact with you, you don’t need to contact me.

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination mandate

WSNA demanded to bargain the effects of the Governor’s COVID-19 Mandate on nurses at Good Samaritan Hospital. We first met on August 12^th and have finally come to a mutual agreement. See the Memorandum of Understanding regarding Governor Inslee’s Covid-19 Vaccination Mandate.

Mandatory floating mandate

On Sept. 3, MultiCare implemented mandatory floating outside of your clinical areas. This was a unilateral move by MultiCare and implemented without first bargaining. It goes against our Collective Bargaining Agreement. WSNA immediately issued a Cease and Desist order, but MultiCare refused to comply. MultiCare then informed us that as of Sept. 12, 2021, they will be implementing mandatory floating both within facilities as well as facility to facility within the region. The region includes all the Puget Sound area MultiCare facilities.

We are pleased to hear that support nurses have been helpful to struggling units, but we maintain that floating outside of your clinical areas should be voluntary, not mandatory. Negotiations over this subject are still ongoing. For nurses, at this time, to avoid being disciplined for insubordination, we recommend that you comply to the best of your ability. By law, you are not required to take on duties that you feel you are not qualified or trained to do. You will need to be assertive and inform the support person, charge nurse, manager, or supervisor when you are not comfortable with duties assigned.

At that point, it is important that you file an online ADO / Staffing Complaint Form (www.wsna.org/ADO) to protect your license and to inform WSNA and management what is occurring. For safety concerns, please also file a Hospital Quality Assurance Form (MeQIM).

Please continue to share your thoughts and concerns with your WSNA local unit officers, unit reps or your nurse representative.

UPDATE: Effective 9/24/2021, MultiCare has suspended mandatory Facility to Facility floating. But they are maintaining the requirement for mandatory floating within facilities.

Upcoming staff appreciation bonuses and retention bonuses

MultiCare has not contacted the WSNA Good Samaritan Nurse Rep in regard to the recent memo on upcoming bonuses. WSNA has sent MultiCare a Demand to Bargain as they are required to bargain over wages, hours and working conditions. At this point, WSNA is waiting on a response with MultiCare to bargain over this. Please be cautious before signing any agreements. Get any questions clarified via your manager or HP department. Send your WSNA Nurse Rep questions and concerns you’d like discussed at bargaining.

October treat bins

Your WSNA officers at Good Sam will be distributing treat bins to your break rooms. We recognize the hard work and difficult conditions that you’ve been facing and want to provide you with some treats. As the bins begin to empty, we encourage WSNA unit reps or any WSNA nurse volunteers to re-fill the bins. Please contact us first to find out how much you will be able to be reimbursed using our Local Unit Funds. Contact Treasurer Aaron Bradley plankeye02@juno.com.

Sunday night shift backpay expected Oct. 15

HR informs us that the Sunday night shift backpay should be paid out to those affected on the Oct. 15 paycheck. It was negotiated during the last contract negotiations in July 2020 that weekend premium would cover all of Sunday night shift. But MultiCare implemented the change late. If you worked Sunday night shift from the end of July 2020 to December 2020, you should be receiving backpay for the portion of those nights that you weren’t properly compensated for. Please pay attention to your pay stubs.

9.9 Weekend Premium. Any nurse who works on the weekend shall receive three dollars ($3.00) per hour for each hour worked in addition to the nurse's regular rate of pay....The weekend for premium pay purposes shall be defined as beginning at 11 :00 p.m. Friday and includes any shift that begins before 1 :01 p.m. Sunday.

Thank you,

Janet Stewart, WSNA Nurse Representative jstewart@wsna.org
Call or Text (206) 735-6484

And your officers: Cheryll Howe, Melinda Thornton, Stephenie Troftgruben, Aaron Bradley, Dawn Morrell and Anne Landen.

Find your union contract at WSNA.org MultiCare-Good-Samaritan-Contract-2020-2023_2021-02-26-233038.pdf (wsna.org)

Please continue to submit your ADO Staffing Complaint forms www.wsna.org/ADO