Newsletter January 2023
Posted Jan 31, 2023
In this issue:
- Contract – Ratified!
- Incentive Pay MOU Update
- Safe Staffing Legislation
- Come Celebrate!
- Are You Supplemental?
- CareRev: A New Phenomenon
- Officer Elections Are Coming!
- WSNA 2023 Convention – Sponsorships Available!
- Grievance Corner from your WSNA Grievance Officer
- Treasurer Report from Rian Williams BSN, RN, RNC, WSNA Treasurer
- WSNA Committee Updates
- Workplace Violence Committee and Spokane Regional Labor Council Updates
Contract – Ratified!
On January 18, 2023, Sacred Heart WSNA Nurses voted in overwhelming numbers to ratify our new contract. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to accomplish this. With no takeaways and many gains, your negotiation team members are proud of the work the bargaining unit did, including special guest speakers providing presentations to management and the incredible petition return.
Some key items to pay attention to in the coming days:
- Please pay CLOSE attention to your next paycheck. Although pay raises do not go into effect until the second pay period following ratification, there are several premiums that have been added or updated. These should be in effect as of January 18, 2023. If you find you are not receiving any of the below premiums, please place an HR ticket, and let your officers or WSNA Nurse Rep know if the issue is not resolved.
- FLOAT POOL: Please ensure you have your $3.00 per hour premium reflected from ratification on.
- ECLS NURSES: For all hours worked on a circuit, there should be a premium reflected.
- NIGHT DIFFERENTIAL: Has increased to $4.75 per hour.
- PRECEPTOR PREMIUM: Has increased to $2.00 per hour.
- CHARGE NURSE PREMIUM: Has increased to $4.50 per hour.
- STANDBY PAY: Has increased to $4.00 per hour for non-holidays and $5.00 per hour for holidays.
- NEW Certification Pay Language Bargained:
There is new language surrounding nursing certifications that provides more clarity on expectations. If you have a certification, you MUST ensure that the renewal is uploaded to the Intranet BEFORE expiration, and please save the proof that it was updated. This way, if something happens and your certification premium drops off, you have proof you did everything properly to ensure that you are made whole.
The new language in the contract will read:
7.5 Certification Premium
“All registered nurses certified in a specialty recognized by a national organization and working in that area of certification shall be paid a premium of one dollar and twenty five cents ($1.25) per hour. Such certification must be agreed upon by the Medical Center and Association. Certifications and recertifications will be submitted using the Medical Center’s standardized process. To qualify for continued pay, the registered nurse will submit recertification documentation according to the standardized process prior to the certification expiration date. In the alternative, nurses who have a Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN) or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) will receive a premium of one dollar and twenty-five cents ($1.25) per hour in lieu of certification pay (nurses will not receive both certification pay and the MSN premium). The Medical Center agrees to provide up to $500 to reimburse nurses for each testing fee or renewal fee required to obtain and maintain one certification.”
Another reminder: Please check your paychecks to make sure you are receiving any applicable certification premium. Some nurses have lost their premiums mid-cycle (not on a renewal year), so please ensure yours is reflected. If it is not, please place an HR ticket, and let your officers or WSNA Nurse Rep know if the issue is not resolved.
Incentive Pay MOU Update
We have received many questions regarding Incentive Pay. We fought hard through negotiations to fold this in as permanent language in our contract, but management continued to push back in earnest, indicating they did not feel it was needed. Thus, the reason this is no longer in effect is due to management’s disinterest in renewing this language. We have noticed this phenomenon across the state at other Providence facilities as well, where this language was not renewed either. We continue to push for adequate staffing across Sacred Heart – please fill out Staffing Analysis Forms when your units are understaffed, with specific notes on how this impacted patient care.
Safe Staffing Legislation
We are currently in the midst of a legislative campaign, urging our local legislators to pass SB 5236. Staffing ratios will take all of us, across the state of WA, uniting in our efforts. The time to take action is NOW. Email your legislators by clicking here (Advocacy toolkit - WSNA), and showing your support. We must hold Hospitals accountable for the well being and safety of patients and staff, and URGE them to pass our safe staffing bill.
We must band together to help legislators and executives understand the dire situation nurses are in, with direct illustrations of effects on our communities if hospitals remain critically staffed.
Come Celebrate!
Please mark your calendars! Although the location is yet to be determined, we are planning to host a Ratification Celebration with food, raffles and fun on Wednesday, March 1 from 4 – 9 p.m. More information will come soon!
Are You Supplemental?
It has been brought to our attention that some nurses have seen their in-lieu premiums drop off of their paychecks and they are no longer receiving them. All in-lieu staff: PLEASE CHECK YOUR PAYSTUBS. If you notice this is an issue, submit an HR ticket and if not resolved, reach out to us.
CareRev: A New Phenomenon
You may have noticed there are nurses training/working on various floors that are a part of a new program called CareRev. These are essentially nurses who are per diem “travelers” who pick up local shifts at multiple hospitals who have need of staff. Your WSNA Officers have been in many conversations with management regarding the details of this newer program, and while we appreciate greatly all the help we receive from them, there are a few details we want to ensure you know in how this program is supposed to work in practice, especially in regards to picking up shifts and floating.
Questions we have asked, and the responses we have received from management:
Who floats first if a unit is overstaffed?
- he CareRev RNS are not scheduled until day of a shift so there should not be a situation where we are bringing a CareRev RN on to work a unit where there is sufficient staff. They should only be placed on units where there are shortages and thus no floating would occur. If there is a need to float, they would be treated similarly to agency, keeping in mind skill mix for patient safety.” In other words, CareRev nurses float first.
“We would try to fill shifts internally up to two hours before shift start time (canceling CareRev staff up to the point if they are no longer needed.) If not needed on one unit after starting, they can be moved to unit with need for which they are competent to provide care.”
How does a charge RN know how to assign a CareRev nurse to patients in terms of their competencies and skillset?
“The IRC has access to the data regarding each Care Rev RN and their individual competencies so are able to place them accordingly.”
If you know you are being overlooked for overtime or extra shifts in favor of a CareRev nurse, please reach out to Jaclyn Smedley at jsmedley@wsna.org or any of your officers. It is our stance that core staff still receive priority for overtime shifts over any traveler.
Officer Elections Are Coming!
New officer elections are coming up this spring! If you are interested in taking part in your officer team and being a leader to represent your bargaining unit for the next 3 years, please click on the link below to nominate yourself or someone you know who would be excellent for the position. If you want more details on this, please reach out to jsmedley@wsna.org for questions.
WSNA 2023 Convention – Sponsorships Available!
Your officer team is offering sponsorships in the value of $400 for a number of nurses to attend the Washington State Nurses Convention https://www.wanursecon.org/ from May 17 to May 19, 2023 in Tacoma, WA. This will be three days of education, inspiration and celebration with time to network, connect, and gather strength from one another. There is a lineup of local and national speakers, and 11 CNE hours are available. If you are interested in being sponsored, please reach out to jsmedley@wsna.org. Sponsorships are limited, and will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis, so reach out soon!
Grievance Corner from your WSNA Grievance Officer
Wendy McNairy RN. ECT Unit. grievance.officer.wsna.shmc@gmail.com
Current Grievances:
Currently, there are 10 grievances in process. Only grievances that are filed on behalf of the whole local unit are disclosed here. Grievances involving discipline, termination or are filed for a personal reason are considered confidential.
Richter and All Affected - Management in the Peds Surgery Center is telling Supplemental nurses that in order to fulfill their obligations of Appendix A, they must continue to sign up from the “at needs” list, even if they have already signed up for a shift, and was not awarded the shift. Essentially, they must continue to sign up, until they actually work the hours they have committed to in their tier. We don’t agree with this application and feel nurses need only make themselves available for shifts from the “at needs” list. This grievance has been denied by SHMC at step 4 and is now being considered for Arbitration.
Zipse and All Affected – Some Supplemental nurses have reported their premium has randomly fallen off with no warning. They made efforts to try and get the issue resolved, and have not been successful so a group grievance has been filed on their behalf. If you are supplemental, and your premium is not being reflected, email jsmedley@wsna.org.
Machorro and All Affected – Nurses have noticed their seniority hours are not being reported as hours, but rather as a date on their pay stubs. Your officers have been working the past couple of months with management to try to get the issue fixed, but problems remain. Therefore a grievance was filed on your behalf.
Phillips and All Affected – Management on the GCU unit unilaterally changed the staffing matrix without engaging the process as outlined in the contract. They increased the patient beds by 50% for a grand total of 18 beds. The current matrix only spoke to 12 beds and did not hold the capacity for 18.
Walter and All Affected - In the midst of COVID, management in the Peds Surgery Center unilaterally changed the matrix to remove NACs. The new change was not done according to article 9.16 of the contract.
Kaur and All Affected – The nurses on L and D are being required to declare if they are willing to be on standby when putting in for a low census day. If the nurse indicates they do not want to be on standby, but rather, just a standard low census day, then they are being bypassed in the fair rotation and not given a chance at all to take a LCD. We feel this is a violation of article 9.4 in the contract, and thus a grievance was filed.
The following Association Group Grievances have been advanced to Arbitration:
Taylor and All Affected – COVID vaccine declination form being discriminatory. We found that only those nurses who sought an exemption from the COVID vaccine, were required to fill out the declination form. We believe this to be discrimination. In addition, the nurses were required to attest to certain language prior to submitting their request, and the attestation language, we felt, was not factual as indicated by Providence.
South and All Affected – The grievance was filed due to the issue of the employer skipping the second step, in article 10.5 when it came to approving or denying PTO requests. While we worked hard for a year to reach a mutually agreeable settlement, SHMC has yet to provide a plan to remedy this grievance to our satisfaction.
Mikhailenko and All Affected – Flu vaccine declination form being discriminatory. We found that only those nurses who sought an exemption from the flu vaccine, were required to fill out the declination form. We believe this to be discrimination. In addition, the nurses were required to attest to certain language prior to submitting their request, and the attestation language, we felt, was not factual as indicated by Providence.
Treasurer Report from Rian Williams BSN, RN, RNC, WSNA Treasurer
What many WSNA nurses don’t know, or realize, is that 4% of the dues that are paid to WSNA each month, are returned to the local unit in the form of a Local Unit Fund account held by the WSNA Officers to support the actives of the local unit. The WSNA Cabinet has indicated the funds can be used by members to promote membership, educational activities, contract administration, internal communications engage in public relations activities, support their officers and negotiating team.
If you are interested in obtaining reimbursement for a WSNA activity of the local unit, contact a local unit officer, or your Nurse Rep to find out how.
Funds Status: as of January 2023
- Total Local Unit Funds amount = $105,371.54
- Incoming dues each month = $4,000 on average
- Ongoing Local Unit Expenses =
- Voice Tel - $25..88/month
- Storage Unit - $84/month
- Labor Council Dues = $227.50/month
- Spokane Alliance Dues = $800/year
- Negotiation Team Stipend - Ratification Payout
- Alyssa Boldt WSNA CoChair 9N - $1,750.00
- Clint Wallace WSNA CoChair 2S - $1,750.00
- Wendy McNairy WSNA Grievance Officer, ECT - $1,750.00
- Rian Williams WSNA Treasurer, NICU - $1,750.00
- Jessica Lewellen WSNA Member at Large AGPU - $1,750.00
- Alle Machorro WSNA Member at Large 2S - $1,750.00
- Jen Haines WSNA Secretary NICU - $1,750.00
- Cindy Escamilla Patterson Documentation Specialist - $1,000.00
- Kaila Phillips, NICU - $1,250.00
- Kelsey South, Adult ED - $1,750.00
- Allison Raasina, CVOR - $1,750.00
To see a full breakdown of deposits and usage, use the links below:
WSNA Committee Updates
Nurse Staffing Committee
Nonie Kingma, AGPU
Staffing Committee Chair
Hello all,
Your Staffing Committee continues with the important work of reviewing your staffing complaints. We know that, for the most part, things are not getting better. However, be aware that your Staffing Analysis Forms are really important and serve as evidence that nurses are doing their best in sometimes impossible situations. Because of your submissions, I was able to testify to the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee that we have "a mountain of evidence that shows how inadequate staffing in our hospital jeopardizes the safety our patients need and deserve." And, because so many of you guys take the time to give specifics in your complaints I was also able to tell the Senate Committee that "I am aware of staffing complaints....that would raise the hair on the back of your neck." You may know that the committee is made up of 1/2 bedside nurses and 1/2 managers and directors including Neil, our CNO. So your complaints are heard by the highest levels of nursing in our hospital. Thank you for taking the time to make them aware of the realities at the bedside.
Other news is that I am retiring in March. I would like you to know that being the Staffing Committee Chair has been one of the most meaningful endeavors of my life. Sincerely. It has been an honor. My replacement on the committee is getting on board but we are not quite ready to announce who that will be just yet. Stay tuned!
With much admiration,
Nonie Kingma
Workplace Violence Committee and Spokane Regional Labor Council Updates
From Jessica Lewellen, Member at Large
member.at.large1.wsna.shmc@gmail.com
For more information on any of the items below, please send Jessica an email.
Workplace Violence Committee
- Michelle Moon Security Administrative Assistant will now be at meetings
- There has been an increase in WPV being reported as staff are learning how and when to use the online submission form
- There is now a section in EVADE that teaches staff how to report WPV
- Security is looking into using a different system to track the number of calls they receive for services, a system called Omnigo is already available
- Security currently runs at 8 officers on days, 6-7 on NOC
- There staffing increased by 14%
- Security will be able to provide quarterly reports on where WPV is taking place in the hospital
- Possibly they could provide this information monthly
- A new security director is currently being hired
- Security is looking at hardening ER and Main Entrances (will get more information on this next month as this is a concern many staff bring forward)
- Security reminded staff that if a domestic violence situation is occurring with a staff member, they are able to create a safety plan with that staff (i.e. being escorted to their car, being aware of no contact orders, etc)
- Security will highlight the hospital being a weapon free zone
- Providence is currently developing a safety plan for home health nurses, including training
- If a patient requires a safety plan to be developed with security, either a charge or ANM can call security to speak with a manager, and setup a specific plan
Spokane Regional Labor Center
- Will be reaching out to Julie Bouanna of Washington Fair Trade to discuss labors concern with the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and Big Tech Digital Trade Agenda
- Map 2 of city re-districting was approved by the city council
- A total of $1050.00 was given to various donations in Spokane
- John Dickson, President/CEO of United Way gave a presentation, and encouraged all labor members to provide information about the book drive from Dolly Parton (any child under 5 gets a free book in the mail each month)
- Will be having a meeting with GSP & PJALS to new jail and ballot initiative
- Kroger/Albertson merger has been challenged by AG Ferguson
Questions about this newsletter? Contact one of your officers or WSNA Nurse Representative Jaclyn Smedley at jsmedley@wsna.org.