On June 14, our bargaining team met with the WSNA Labor Executive Council (formerly know as the Cabinet), to seek authorization for a strike vote. The Council approved us to take a strike vote.

The strike vote will occur over two full days:

• Tuesday June 20 and Wednesday June 21 from 06:30 to 21:00
• Location is to be determined, but will be an easily visible and accessible place on the hospital campus. We will have physical signs directing you, as well as a text to the bargaining unit Monday night with the location.
• Questions? There will be bargaining unit leaders and WSNA staff available at the vote to answer your questions.

You must be a member in good standing to vote in the strike authorization vote; WSNA membership will be available at both days of the vote to help process any membership applications.

On-Line Membership Application:  Membership application - WSNA

Management’s Campaign of Misinformation Continues

We wish management put half as much creativity into its staffing proposals as it does into its incorrect, misleading, gaslighting missives to us. While we have more important things to focus on (namely, preparing for a strike vote to force a reckoning over the staffing crisis in the hospital), we want to make a few notes about management’s recent anti-strike propaganda. First – the FAQ that Kristi Hartway sent out recently is a cut-and-paste job from the one it sent when our SEIU coworkers voted recently to strike. Second – it’s generic. There is no information in there specific to WSNA. In fact, it is irresponsible how inaccurate and fear-mongering this FAQ is.

Specifically –

• WSNA does not fine nurses who cross the strike line to work, period. WSNA has never had initiation fees. Management had the temerity to ask that the Union put this in writing so here it is. Management – as long as we’re putting commitments in writing, how about you commit in writing to a truthful position on team nursing? Kristi Hartway’s bargaining update says that they “have heard a rumor” about changes to patient care delivery starting on July, but if the CNO announces team nursing starting on July 1 in unit meetings, and *repeatedly at the bargaining table*, and Jim Beatty tells nurses at his coffee chat that team nursing “is coming”, who exactly is perpetuating these “rumors”? If we can’t rely on the head nurse and the hospital’s top executive to convey accurate information…
• Super thoughtful that management is concerned about strikebreakers’ cars as they’re driving through picket lines. Guess that concern ends once nurses actually park their cars in the hospital’s garages. We’ve told management repeatedly about cars being vandalized while nurses work but….
• Safety. We’ll set aside the snark for this response because the suggestion that nurses would engage in harassing, violent behavior on a strike line is patently offensive. At our picket, we saw joy, pride, and the power that comes from nurses standing together to fight for our patients and our community. We saw babies, kids, dogs, neighbors, and members of other unions joining our picket line in support. What we didn’t see was violence, harassing language, or unsafe conditions. Let’s be clear: if we strike, it will be to call attention to conditions that we believe are unsafe inside the hospital.

Community Support

• On June 14, WSNA members testified in front of the Pierce County Central Labor Council.  We received their endorsement and support for our fight for a fair contract.  They will help get other local union support on the picket lines with us. What is the PCCLC?

“We are one of nearly 500 state and local labor councils of the AFL-CIO and are the heart of the labor movement. We are democratically elected bodies dedicated to represent the interests of working people at the state and local level. We mobilize our members and community partners to advocate for social and economic justice and we strive daily to vanquish oppression and make our communities better for all people—regardless of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin.”

• Next community action will be Good Sam nurses testifying at the Pierce County Council Meeting.  Date Tuesday June 20 at 3:00 p.m.  Location: 93o Tacoma Avenue, downtown Tacoma,  Room 1045.   If you’d like to join us, please plan to wear your WSNA Blue T-shirts and notify Jstewart@wsna.org .  We want to ensure our community and county council leaders know exactly what’s happening at Good Samaritan Hospital. MultiCare is the largest private sector employer in Pierce County.  That means there are thousands of nurse voters in this county and we have a voice that needs to be heard.  You can testify in person, virtually or by phone; or email a written statement.  Council & Committee Meetings | Pierce County, WA - Official Website (piercecountywa.gov)

Get the word out!

Flyers to post on your local unit bulletin board and to hand out to your neighbors and community are both located on our local unit page.

Strike Vote Info Flyer
Community Support Flyer

WSNA Strike FAQ 

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

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