We have competition for our WSNA Local Unit Officer elections. Your vote matters! All WSNA members in good standing at Island Health will be receiving ballots in the USPS mail.

Returned ballots must be postmarked no later than March 14, 2024!

Only WSNA members in good standing will receive ballots and can vote. If you are not a member and would like to join, go to wsna.org/membership.

My manager wants to chat…

Union members have the right to union representation by a trained union representative at any meeting that could lead to discipline now or in the future. These representation rights are also known as Weingarten rights. For purposes of ease, we will just refer to them as representation rights.

The question to ask if your manager wants to chat or meet with you is, could this meeting lead to discipline now or in the future? The same thing would apply if you are having a conversation with management and it starts to feel uncomfortable. Stop the meeting and ask, could this meeting lead to discipline now or in the future?  Be sure you get a clear yes or no answer. Do not settle for, you don’t need a rep, it depends on how you answer our questions, no there won't be any discipline today, or anything other than yes or no.

If the answer is yes, tell your manager you are happy to meet, but would like a reasonable amount of time to obtain union representation. Managers generally agree with this. Note: management is not allowed to pick your representative.

If the manager does not allow you to reschedule and insists you meet immediately assert your rights and professionally state you will listen but cannot respond until you have union representation.

Your WSNA Local Unit Officers, Labor Rep, or Nurse Rep is who you should reach out to if you find yourself in this situation.

Questions? Contact WSNA Labor Representative Tae Abraham at BAbraham@wsna.org 206-575-7979 ext. 3142 or Nurse Representative Barbara Friesen at bfriesen@wsna.org  206-575-7979 ext. 3056.