Vaccine mandate update

WSNA met with MultiCare on Aug. 12, 2021 to bargain the effects of the vaccine mandate on our members. It’s been 22 days and MultiCare has not yet given WSNA a response to our proposal.

Please note that neither WSNA nor MultiCare can stop the Governor’s Proclamation for health care providers to receive the COVID vaccination by Oct. 18. We cannot stop nurses from being separated from employment if you do not comply.

WSNA is in the process of negotiating the effects of the mandate. These effects include, for example, MultiCare’s obligations under state and federal law to consider requests for reasonable accommodations for exempt employees, how nurses who have been partially but not fully vaccinated by the deadline will be treated, MultiCare’s obligation to keep employees’ medical information confidential, and so on. As stated earlier, MultiCare has not yet given us a response to our proposals.

If you believe you may have a valid medical or religious belief exemption, you should obtain the appropriate exemption request form from HR. WSNA cannot advise you as to what to say in your request. It is very important that you begin the process sooner rather than later, so that the panel that will decide exemption requests has enough time to evaluate your request and seek additional information if needed. The deadline to submit exemption requests is Sept. 10.

Here are some important dates from MultiCare for those still considering being vaccinated:

Sept 6: Last day for first shot of Moderna COVID Vax.
Sept 13: Last day for first shot of Pfizer COVID Vax.
Oct 4: Last day for J&J COVID Vax or second shot of Pfizer COVID Vax or Moderna COVID Vax (because of the 14 day waiting period to be considered fully vaccinated).
Oct 18: Last day for completed vaccination. MultiCare will accept “fresh second shots” through the 18th without pulling people from the schedule and placing them on unpaid suspension.

We’re taking action together across unions and across our state

Nurses and healthcare workers are united for safe staffing, and we’re showing our unity with a joint sticker-up next week calling for real solutions to this crisis. This sticker-up is just one way we can work together to fight for what our patients need from our state’s healthcare system. Get in touch with your WSNA officers, nurse rep, or unit reps to learn more and share your ideas. Look for further actions to come.

Here are three things you can do to support the campaign when the materials arrive:

• Distribute stickers to WSNA members to wear next week.
• Take a photo of nurses wearing the stickers and share that photo with the WSNA nurse representative assigned to your local. You can also post the photo on social media.
• Post the standing together for safe staffing flyer, which will be included in the mailing, on every union bulletin board in your facility.

Your WSNA local unit officers are advocating for you

Your officers sent a letter on Sept. 1 to Good Samaritan’s President and COO asking for retention pay and COVID crisis pay. MultiCare has not been interested in offering this in the past, but we are hoping that our severe short staffing crisis, patient and staff safety, and the multitude of nurses who have left will motivate them to hearing our case. We feel MultiCare should show some appreciation for the nurses who come to work day in and day out to keep this hospital functioning.

ADOs - Assignment Despite Objection

Thank you to those who have been filing ADOs indicating situations such as unsafe staffing, system failures, missed breaks and equipment shortages. ADOs also help protect your license, so it’s a good idea to do ADOs every shift you are concerned about unsafe staffing. Some of you have described working in very unsafe conditions. Also fill out a MeQIM for safety issues. www.wsna.org/ado

What you can do:

• Nurses can file individual Department of Health complaints for safety issues
• Nurses can file individual Labor and Industries complaints for missed breaks, mandatory overtime and for workplace violence.

Please contact Janet Stewart at jstewart@wsna.org for instructions on how to file these individual complaints.

Here’s a reference to the State of WA Department of Health clarifying your duties to when it comes to patient assignments:

Questions of assignment:
https://www.doh.wa.gov/portals/1/Documents/6000/QsOfAssign.pdf

Patient abandonment:
https://www.doh.wa.gov/portals/1/Documents/6000/PatientAbndmt.pdf

Professional liability insurance

Purchasing professional liability insurance is a good idea, as you need to have it before an incident occurs, not afterwards. Many nurses use NSO www.nso.com which costs $111 per year. This company is just an example; there are also other companies to choose from.

Thank you,

Your WSNA local unit officers: Cheryll Howe, Melinda Thornton, Stephenie Troftgruben, Aaron Bradley, Dawn Morrell and Anne Landen.

And your WSNA nurse representative, Janet Stewart jstewart@wsna.org (206) 735-6484

Find your contract at WSNA.org.