In this edition of news you can use you’ll find the following updates

• HIPAA wrongful terminations and disciplines
• Pre-negotiation update
• Steward Training
• Open officer positions

Grievance Updates

Between June 26, 2025, and July 11, 2025, our union has filed 16 grievances for wrongful terminations and 3 for final written warnings without just cause related to an April sentinel event. We want all our nurses to know that we stand in unity and will fully utilize our grievance process. Many nurses have reached out with varying accounts of how they were trained to use the EPIC hovering function. We would love to hear from you about your experiences, please contact Kitt Ruchert with your story.

As you may know, when Sacred heart disciplines or terminates a nurse, they are required to have just cause. Continue reading to find out more about what just cause is.

What is Just Cause?

Even the best nurses can make mistakes, which is why most union contracts include language protecting workers from discipline without just cause. That means your employer can’t discipline you for any reason; under our union contract, Sacred Heart will need to prove they’ve met seven specific standards to demonstrate they have just cause for disciplining a nurse in our bargaining unit. Unless they prove they meet all seven standards, they would not have just cause for discipline and could not penalize a nurse under our contract.
 
 Those seven standards are:

• Management must give employees fair notice of the rule they’re accused of violating. Management must show that you knew about a rule before they can discipline you for violating it. They might do this through mandatory trainings, classes during orientation, or by distributing a rule via email to all employees.
• The rule must be reasonable. Management doesn’t have just cause for discipline if they’re enforcing an unreasonable rule, even if you knew the rule exists. If your manager is trying to enforce a rule that doesn’t make sense for your unit, it might not be a reasonable rule.
• Management must have done a thorough investigation before imposing discipline. If management did only a partial investigation before disciplining you or if crucial evidence of a violation only turned up after you were disciplined, they did not complete a thorough investigation before disciplining you.
• Management’s investigation must have been fair and objective. If your manager only talked to other managers or didn’t talk to everyone who witnessed the alleged violation, they have not completed a fair and objective investigation.
• Management must have proof the violation actually occurred. If management disciplines you because they have a hunch you’ve violated a rule but no proof, they have not met the standard for just cause.
• Management must have enforced the rule evenhandedly. If management has never enforced this rule before or imposed less serious penalties in the past, they have not met the standard for just cause. Likewise, if management is harder on some employees than others when it enforces this rule, it’s not applying the rule evenhandedly and does not have just cause.
• The penalty must be proportionate to the violation. Management must take things like the seriousness of the rule they’re alleging you’ve violated and your length of service into account when it decides to impose discipline. If you’ve received a serious penalty for a minor violation or for your first offense after a long history as an employee in good standing, your employer may not have just cause for discipline.

Just cause protections are one of the biggest benefits of union representation, and by knowing how it works we can make best use of our rights under our contract.

Float Pool Arbitration Update

We have eagerly been waiting to find out how the Employer will make these float pool premium payments moving forward to float pool nurses for all hours worked. WSNA has repeatedly communicated that we have won this arbitration and expect compliance. To date, Sacred Heart has not yet responded. Stay tuned for the next update!

Bargaining Update

Our pre-negotiation survey is closed! Thank you to all our nurses who filed their survey, we appreciate your feedback. We are actively forming our bargaining team that will sit across from management and advocate for our wages, hours, and working conditions! The most effective way to contribute to getting a strong contract is to become a local steward. Keep reading below to find out more!

Steward Training

Help our team stay strong and unified by being a Union Steward. Formerly known as a Local Unit Rep, stewards are the constant union presence on the floor, ensuring that members’ rights are respected and that the contract is upheld. Stewards don’t know everything, and they don’t pretend to, but they know who to reach out to if something feels wrong. The training covers the basics of contract enforcement and workplace organizing. Topics include

• The role of a Unit Rep
• Our rights at work
• Just cause discipline
• Internal issue organizing for your unit
• Actions during contract campaigns

Upcoming Virtual Trainings

Thursday July 17, 2025- 9-10 am and 7-8 pm

Thursday July 24, 2025- 9-10 am and 4-5 pm

Sign up today and our organizer Jenny Galassi will contact you to arrange training.

Open Officers Positions

We have multiple open officer positions! Current openings include

• Grievance officer
• Member at Large

The grievance officer works closely with the WSNA Nurse Representative to process contract violations on behalf of nurses. These violations can include individual discipline, termination, or failure by Sacred Heart to follow contract language. Training provided.

Member-at-large is responsible for meeting with newly hired nurses every two weeks for 30 minutes. This time is set for our union to show new nurses our contract, teach them about their rights as workers and benefits under our contract, and help them get signed up as members. New hire orientation is every other Thursday at 4pm. Training provided.

If you have any questions or you are interested in becoming an officer, contact your WSNA Nurse Representative Kitt Ruchert kruchert@wsna.org