Home
Union / WSNA local unit

PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center

Overview Documents Updates Resources and tools

Newsletter Spring 2021

Know your local unit officers...


Local Unit Chair
Karla Fowler
Grievance Officer
Jennifer Buckhalter
Member at Large
Mike Rogan
Member at Large
Sarah Rice

Travis Elmore, RN, WSNA Nurse Representative can be reached at 1-800-231-8482, ext. 3117 or telmore@wsna.org.

Staffing Committee Members Needed

Are you a NURSE ADVOCATE or know a colleague who is? Do you want to make a difference in the working conditions for RNs at PeaceHealth St. John?

Your WSNA team here at PeaceHealth St. John is in need of a registered nurse willing to step up into a role on the staffing committee as a medical unit representative. Your co-workers could use your advocacy! The typical time commitment is about 4 hours a quarter (on average) and the time is paid time!

Contact Sara Rice or Travis Elmore at 206-575-7979 ext. 3114 / telmore@wsna.org if you would like additional information regarding the duties of a staffing committee member.

Missed Breaks/Mandatory OT

With your support, WSNA has been successful in strengthening the laws in Washington State around mandatory overtime, mandatory call, and missed breaks in recent years. It is important that you get your breaks, report mandatory overtime and mandatory call that isn’t truly emergent! Please document missed breaks and report mandatory OT and missed breaks on an ADO form.

Here are the breaks you are entitled to under the WSNA contract:

6.2 Workday. The basic workday for Medical Center nurses shall be eight (8) consecutive hours, exclusive of a one-half (1h) hour meal break on the nurse's own time. The basic workday for Medical Group nurses shall be either eight (8) or nine (9) consecutive hours, exclusive of a meal break of at least one-half (1h) hour on the nurse's own time.
6.2.1 If a nurse is not relieved of duties for the meal period by a qualified nurse and is unable to leave the work area, the meal period shall be paid to the nurse at the nurse's regular rate of pay and, for Medical Center nurses, a meal will be furnished by the Employer. Overtime will apply if hours worked exceed the basic scheduled shift.
6.2.2 A minimum of fifteen (15) minutes in each four (4) hour period shall comprise the rest period for nurses.

Go to https://secure.lni.wa.gov/wagecomplaint/#/ to file a complaint or to find out more about filing a complaint with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

ADO Form/Online Staffing Complaint form – Use it!

This online staffing complaint/ADO form was developed by a coalition that included WSNA, other unions and Washington State Hospital Association representatives. Completing the form serves many purposes, including data tracking, bring issues to light, supportive documentation, and discussion tool to make things better. It is not punitive.

This form is to be completed for issues including but not limited to:

  • The unit is not staffed according to its staffing plan or if mid-shift staffing adjust­ments are inadequate. (In order to know if your unit is not staffed according to its staffing plan, you must first know what is the staffing plan for your unit. Staffing plans, including nursing and unlicensed staff, are required to be posted on every unit.)
  • Missed breaks or earned time denied
  • Equipment issues
  • Workplace safety concerns
  • Concerns with working conditions
  • System Failures

If you have reason to complete this form, you first should speak with your manager or charge nurse for that shift in order to try to resolve the concern as quickly as possible. They should escalate in real time if they cannot fully address your concerns. When you complete the online form, you are encouraged to include your manager’s name and email.

After you complete the form a copy of the submitted form immediately goes to you, the WSNA chair and co-chair, WSNA Rep, staffing committee co-chairs, and your manager. The Nurse Staffing Committee will review the complaint at their next meeting if it is a staffing concern. The Nurse Conference Committee will review the complaint at their next meeting if it is of other concern. The hospital supports the use of ADO forms and has committed to not retaliating for completing forms.

Find the staffing complaint form at wsna.org/ado.

Weingarten Rights

As a union employee, you have the right to union representation anytime you believe that you are being called into a meeting that may lead to discipline.

Your Weingarten Rights
Under the Supreme Court’s Weingarten decision, when an investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:

  • Rule One: The employee must make a clear request for union representation before or during the interview. The employee cannot be punished for making the request.
  • Rule Two: After the employee makes the request, the employer must choose among three options. The employer must either:
    • Grant the request and delay questioning until the union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee.
    • Deny the request and end the interview immediately.
    • Give the employee a choice of either having the interview without representation or end the interview.
  • Rule Three: If the employer denies the request for union representation and continues to ask questions, it may be considered an unfair labor practice and the employee has the right to remain silent. The employer may not discipline the employee for such a refusal.

What to do if you are called into a meeting?
First ask: “What is the purpose of this meeting?” Then make the following statement: “If this meeting could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative be present at this meeting. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”

I understand that there are many of you that may be afraid to make this bold statement to your manager; but these are your rights. If you have a gut feeling that the meeting you are going to attend seems unusual, please go with your gut feeling. Give one of your officers or the WSNA Rep a call and let’s talk.

Removal of disciplines

Just a reminder, you need to request to have a discipline removed from your personnel file at the time it is due to be removed; usually after a minimum of 2 years’ time. Please see the language below taken directly from the WSNA contract.

10.11 Personnel File. Nurses shall, upon request, have access to information in their personnel files, except previous employment information. In addition, upon request from the nurse, written disciplinary notices shall be removed from the nurse's personnel file after twenty-four (24) months if there have been no further disciplinary occurrences during that 24-month period with the following exceptions: (1) written disciplinary notices relating to violations of the Employer's non-discrimination policies, including sexual harassment; (2) conduct threatening or endangering patient safety; (3) co-worker abuse issues; (4) theft or falsifying records; and (5) unlawful breach of confidentiality or other privacy violations. These written disciplinary notices shall remain in effect for a maximum of three (3) years.

Contract Negotiations are Coming!

The current collective bargaining agreement between WSNA and PeaceHealth St. John expires on Sept. 30, 2021. In a few weeks WSNA will be sending out a survey to get your feedback on what you believe our priorities should be at the bargaining table! The survey will also be where you should make your desire to be on the negotiation team known. We hope to have representation from every unit in the hospital on the negotiation team so start thinking about who should represent your unit!


Thank you for being a WSNA Member!

YOU ARE WSNA!