It would be 100% accurate to say some key resolutions are in order for the local unit in 2026. 

Staffing committee 2026

Much to our chagrin, the staffing plans for 2026 were approved by a 50% plus one vote at the Hospital Staffing Committee (HSC). With this slim margin of approval, defined by the safe staffing law of 2023 and your WSNA contract in article 8, there are critical calls to action that will sound very familiar to many of you. While the changes to so many grids in Med/Surg, Med/Tele and CCU are an alarming change, it is not going to get better without the majority of nurses participating in solutions and having each other’s back in doing so.

If you are mad about this, as many nurses are, here are some important steps to take. We are not asking for your patience. We are asking for your participation in the solutions:

1. Ensure your staffing grid is easily accessible to all staff in your unit/department. If it is not, request that it becomes readily available.
2. Is the daily staffing plan posted in a public place for visitors and patients to see? Is it accurate and current? If it is not, request that an accurate plan is posted on the unit.
3. Ensure it is being followed consistently throughout the shift. If it is not, make your concern known to the charge and/or supervisor or manager.
4. Even if the plan/grid is being followed…the assignment despite objection (ADO) form is still the quickest and most effective way to submit staffing concerns. Raise your concern with the charge, supervisor, or manager to make your concern known. If adjustments cannot be made, submit that online ADO. It is not an affront to the employer or your unit. It is about process improvement.
5. Without objections being raised, it sends the message that staffing is just fine, and the nurses do not object. Is this true? We are hearing that it is not! How well are the increased ratios working out at certain census points? This is the nurses’ chance to consistently make their concerns known, have it reviewed at staffing committee and monitored for trends of the same issues cropping up and not getting resolved. Kudos to the nurses for resuming ADO submission. Keep it up! Your ADO’s matter more than a verbal report that nurses are objecting to the staffing grid and assignments. This is the process by which changes were made to staffing plans that nurses submitted objections to in 2025.
6. Do not let anyone tell you that your ADO is inappropriate or should not have been submitted. This is the reason we were able to gain changes to the staffing plans for a department that continued to raise concerns. The ADO, a long recognized tool, may cause heartburn for some. Make no mistake, each time you do raise your specific concern(s) with your assignment and submit an ADO, you are exercising your legal and ethical duty as a licensed nurse in our state. The integrity of your practice, quality of patient care and the employer benefits from conscientious nurses who regularly incorporate ADO submission into their practice.
7. Always attest accurately if you miss any rest breaks or meal periods. Attesting that you got all your breaks if you did not does not help anyone, not nurses and not patients. It also degrades conditions for all by having the appearance that nurses are getting all their breaks. We are certain no Overlake RN wants that.

Benefits committee 2026

There are 3 spots for WSNA members to serve on the benefits committee. Our whole region, state and nation are grappling with affordability and access issues with respect to healthcare. This contractual committee is intended to be quarterly or more often to inform Overlake of the nurses’ experience with health benefits as an Overlake RN. If this is important to you, contact a local unit officer or Nurse Rep Tara Barnes to join this committee.

Local Unit Rep

All unit’s need and function best with at least one Unit Rep for each shift. The gold standard is 1 unit rep for every 10 employees! The Unit Rep is an appointed union role, serving as a primary point of contact between nurses in the unit, Local Unit Officers, and WSNA Staff. A Unit Rep welcomes and introduces themselves and WSNA to new nurses in their clinical area. Unit Reps are a resource for nurses in their unit or work site and across the bargaining unit. Unit Reps collect and distribute information so that nurses and Local Unit Officers can work together for maximum contract enforcement.

New! Local unit steward training dates begin next month

A local unit steward functions not only as a unit rep but also is trained to attend investigation meetings with WSNA peers. An investigation meeting is any meeting that has the potential to lead to corrective action/discipline. They function as a support, take notes for the nurse, and ask clarifying questions. This will be important if a discipline results and the nurse wants to grieve it.

 While investigation meetings may not be your cup of tea, representational rights for union nurses is a foundational element of a strong, organized local unit. Whether you have been a nurse for 30 years or 30 minutes, due process is your right when invited to such a meeting. Not every conversation with management is an investigatory meeting. It is very important to always ask if the meeting could lead to discipline first. Unless the answer to your question is a clear no, inform the supervisor or manager that you are invoking your representation rights and contact a unit rep, WSNA officer or the Nurse Representative to secure representation.

Questions about this communication? Contact the Nurse Rep Tara Barnes tbarnes@wsna.org or a local unit officer.