Dear WSNA Members:

These negotiations have been a long, rough ride. Since September, we have spent 24 days at the bargaining table negotiating with Providence executives and Kadlec managers. At times, negotiations were collaborative. More often than not, bargaining was contentious. Throughout the process, we have felt supported and carried by you – Kadlec’s nurses. When we asked you to show up, you showed up. When we asked you to take action, you took action. And when we asked you to contemplate taking more action, up to and including a strike, you thought carefully about the potential impact to your families, your patients, and our community.

We have arrived at a moment where we now have a settlement offer (or “Tentative Agreement”) that we believe merits your YES vote. Our support for your YES vote is begrudging; we know that you deserve more. That said, this deal represents a significant number of improvements in many different parts of the contract, including your priorities: Safety, Break Relief, Step Advancements, and more. It also represents improvements to compensation that address the fact that Kadlec’s wage scale – especially in the mid-range steps – had fallen behind our comparable hospitals.

The final “redline” version of the contract will be available to everyone prior to our ratification vote on March 31. We are still in the process of confirming a final version of that document with Providence managers before we distribute the document. However, we are happy to share this summary of victories achieved and compromises made. Each section is followed by the Article/Section number where you will be able to find the changes in the contract. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions – either via phone or email, or by attending an information session either online or in person. We’ll share that information as soon as we confirm locations for those meetings.

In solidarity, Your WSNA Bargaining Team
Meri Bukovisnky- CDU, WSNA Chair
Crystal Rivera- ED, Member at Large
Milari Romero- ICU, Member at Large
Franklin Alvarez- 7RP
Andrew Blake- Cath Lab
Kelsi Duncan- NICU
Deborah Langston- PACU, Grievance officer
Anita Dennis- PACU, Grievance officer
Jamie White- 9RP, Secretary/Treasurer

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Jennifer Jackson at jjackson@wsna.org.