Sacred Heart nurses knocked it out of the park with our turnout and overwhelming majority support for a strike at the strike authorization vote! Our vote made a large impression at the bargaining table today. We met with the mediator again, and Management modified its proposal somewhat:

• They increased their wage proposal to 3% (effective ratification, not retroactive); 2% (effective 1/1/20); 2.25% (effective 1/1/21); 1.5% (effective 1/1/22). [By contrast, your WSNA bargaining team has proposed wages increases that will be retroactive to 1/1/19.]

• They proposed a new expiration date for the contract: 6/30/22.

• With respect to their Short-Term Disability proposal, they modified their proposal to allow nurses who have 20 or more years of service as of 12/31/19 to have their EIT banks frozen and grandfathered for use for all purposes currently allowed as well as topping off STD or the WA paid family leave.

We heard you loud and clear regarding your continuing concerns about management’s STD proposal, which includes:

• 7-day waiting period
• Coverage does not extend to families
• Only 65% income replacement
• Loss of EIT and reduced PTO accrual

We will continue to press Management to give us a fair proposal. Management continues to propose stripping away hard-fought health insurance protections from the contract and continues to reject our common-sense staffing and workplace violence proposals. Your WSNA bargaining team has proposed wage increases that will be retroactive to 1/1/19.

We will continue our strike preparations. Our goal is not to strike, but we will be prepared if we have to. Our goal is a fair contract.

ICYMI - Here’s a roundup of media coverage of our strike authorization vote:

Spokesman-Review - Sacred Heart nurses vote to authorize a strike

KHQ - More than 1900 Sacred Heart nurses vote to authorize strike

KXLY - Sacred Heart nurses vote overwhelmingly to go on strike

KREM - Strike looming at Spokane's Sacred Heart

Stay tuned for the next Local Unit and strike committee meeting date. It’s not too late to sign up for a strike committee.

In solidarity!
Your negotiating team,
Stevie Lynne Krone - 9N, KT Raley-Jones – CICU, Clint Wallace – ICU, LaDonna Reel – MB, Darryl Johnson – CICU, Nonie Kingma – AGPU, Vicki Benson – Radiology, Linda Clanton - IV therapy, David Emerson - 7N

Any questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Jaclyn Perkins, BSN, RN at 800-231-8482, ext. 3118 or jperkins@wsna.org.