We, your negotiation team, met with management on May 6 for our fourth session. Our team spent the majority of the session reviewing and evaluating some of the many proposals we have received from management. During our joint session, management passed another proposal related to multi-campus floating including floating to Harborview. Management rejected much of our rotating/variable shift proposal that would significantly restrict the dangerous practice of subjecting nurses to rotating /variable shift schedules. We were also quite disappointed to learn that management will likely not have a wage proposal until well into June. Our next session is Wednesday, May 19.

Do you want to know more? Have a chance to talk with your negotiation team and nurse rep? Please join us at one of the update sessions on Friday, May 14. This meeting is for WSNA NW nurses only.

When: Friday, May 14
Time: 8 – 9 a,m. ~ 1– 2 p.m. ~ 4 – 5 p.m.

Can’t make it? Send your questions with one of your peers or contact one of the bargaining team members or your nurse rep Sara Frey sfrey@wsna.org 206.575.7979 ext 3039. Also contact your team members or nurse rep if you need the link to the meeting.

Don't forget your Nurses Week Gift!

WSNA Members – we hope you can stop by the WSNA table outside of the MSE entrance of the hospital to pick up your Nurses Week gift on the following days/times.
Friday, May 7 from 3 - 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 8 from 7 a.m.-noon
If you cannot make it on these days, ask a coworker to pick yours up for you. If you have not had a chance to join yet, we will have membership forms available for you and you can pick up your gift when you turn it in. If you have any questions, text WSNA Organizer Annie Mansfield at 206-247-4723 or email her at amansfield@wsna.org.

Tell Management that Money Matters!

As your bargaining team, we are fighting for a contract that includes wage increases that will help retain and recruit the nurses we need to promote safer working conditions.

Nurses sharing their stories will directly impact our team's ability to negotiate better wages for all of our nurse colleagues. We intend to share with management the stories of financial hardship that RNs are currently facing. Join other RNs and share your story and your name so your bargaining team can deliver the most impactful message to management. Although actual names help make a more impactful impression, if you prefer to be anonymous, enter your initials or "Concerned UW RN."

UWMC-Northwest wages are below other comparable hospitals in the Seattle metro, and nurses who leave cite wages as the most significant reason.

UWMC-Northwest can and must do better, and we need your help delivering the message to management that Money Matters.

Do any of the questions below resonate with you? Share your story, so management will hear your voices and learn the financial struggles you face.

• What sacrifices have you had to make in your budget?
• Have you had or are you considering: a second job, a smaller apartment, move further away from Seattle to make your finances work?
• What did you leave off the grocery list last week because you couldn't afford it?
• What did your kid ask for recently that you had to say no to because it would have created a financial hardship?
• Do the below-market wages make it harder for you to pay your student loan payments?
• Are you feeling enticed to work as a traveler or take a sign-on bonus at another facility?
• Is insufficient staffing leading to vacation denials?
• Are you attempting to continue your education but can’t lower your FTE to accommodate?
• Does your shift require you to have personal transportation rather than the ability to use public?
• Have you postponed retirement due to finances?
• Do you feel that ancillary positions are open because of unfair wage proposals?
• Is your family reliant on you as the primary income provider?
• Has the Covid pandemic resulted in increased financial pressures due to more childcare expenditures or any other loss of household income?

If you would like to send a picture to help personalize your story, please help show that nurses have a life outside of the hospital. We will be making a montage as a visual. Send to Annie Mansfield amansfield@wsna.org.

In Solidarity,

Your 2021 WSNA Bargaining Team members,
Josef Mansour — ED, Brook Dodd — SCU, Hugh M McGowan — Neigh­bor­hood Clinics, Tiffany Guyette — Float, Samuel Alemu — MS, Heidi Glenden­ning — Birth Center, Rebekah Aguilar — Birth Center, Eliza­beth Tassani – ED, Tom Booze — ED