Hello Public Health Seattle King County Staff Nurses,

Your WSNA elected officers are hosting a virtual local unit meeting on Microsoft Teams and encourage you to attend on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. We can discuss items that may affect your workplace conditions and want to hear from you.

Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Or call in (audio only)
+1 206-485-2614,,122274035# United States, Seattle
(888) 313-0617,,122274035# United States (Toll-free)
Phone Conference ID: 122 274 035#

Meet your Local Unit Officers...

Since we were not able to have in person introductions for our new officers, we have included a picture and quick intro. Please feel free to reach out and ask us questions; If we do not know the answer, we will get it for you! We appreciate being kept up to date with every department, good and bad (but we definitely like to hear about all of the good stuff happening!).

Hello WSNA members! My name is Tyler, and I am excited to serve as your Local Unit Chair. I became a nurse in 2017 and worked for SCCA/UWMCs blood and bone marrow transplant unit for a year before relocating to Denver, CO where I also worked as a BMT nurse. While I loved my time in Colorado, I quickly came to understand the value and importance of having nursing union representation as there were none at the time in the state of Colorado.

After moving back to Seattle to start my graduate work at the UW I decided to finally move into the Public Health sector, which is where I knew I wanted to be eventually. Currently, I work for the Child Care Health Program within the CHS department, and I am excited to be serving our community. I am also a Doctor of Nursing student with a focus in Population Health and Systems Leadership. I am particularly interested in the intersection of public health and public health policy. I chose to run for this position because I believe that I have the vision and drive to help move PHSKC forward in their recognition of the value and importance of nursing. I also want to make sure that the nurses who work for PHSKC feel supported in all aspects of their jobs. I believe the current COVID-19 pandemic has provided us with an opportunity to reevaluate our priorities and my hope is that, together, we can push for the prioritization of the essential services that we all provide.

Hello,

My name is Tami Nesler. I am honored to be re-elected as a union representative, grievance officer. I am passionate that every nurse has a voice to bring their concerns and ideas to the forefront.

I have been a nurse 27 years. The last 21+ years I have experienced first-hand the evolution of Jail Health, which gave me the confidence to participate in challenging contract negotiations.

I found the process very rewarding and hope to make positive contributions moving forward.

At home, I have my 3 cats and a very large loving Rottweiler. My family is everything to me and I cherish every moment with them. I enjoy decorating my home, shopping for antiques, crafting, collecting recipes and of course TRAVELING!

My name is Yolanda Morris and I am the treasurer for our WSNA bargaining unit. I developed a passion for public health while working as a school nurse. I then went on to get my DNP in Population Health. I now work on the Child Care Health team.

I chose to become an officer because I have seen how enthusiastic public health nurses are about their work and the great things that they accomplish for the many people and communities of King County. In order for nurses to do their best, they need to feel comfortable and confident with their job and the conditions in which they work. My goal is to help ensure that nurses can continue to do their work with dignity and compassion.

Hello WSNA Members!

My name is Carolyn Clark and I am grateful to be serving at the Grievance Officer at King County Correctional Facility (KCCF). I have been a nurse for a little over 12 years, coming to nursing after other careers such as social work and restaurant and apartment management. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my husband Brad (and our kitty Doris) and other family and friends and some of my passions are reading, hiking, traveling, and all social justice issues, but especially those having to do with animals and the environment.

I was first introduced to the power of unions during my childhood when my maternal grandparents were part of one at the furniture factory they worked at in our Midwestern city. Through their experiences, I noticed that their union gave them a voice in a profession where the worker often did not get listened to.

Up until I became a nurse, I wasn’t part of a union at other jobs or careers because it wasn’t offered. I have lived all over the country, working many jobs and looking back, the jobs where I was paid the worse and did not have great (or sometimes any!) medical insurance or retirement benefits was in the states that were not union-friendly. When I became a nurse, I instinctively knew that I wanted to be part of the union because I was going to part of something bigger than just myself and my story.

Since becoming a member of WSNA, I have seen my voice and the voices of other nurses in action; this has become extremely apparent during the COVID pandemic. In late 2019 to early 2020, when my colleague Brenda who was the former Grievance Officer at KCCF resigned to actually go work for WSNA, I saw this as my opportunity to continue my life-long passion for service and volunteering and to expand my service with the union. I requested to volunteer to be the Grievance Officer at KCCF and was definitely appreciative when the other WSNA officers appointed me to this role.

Since beginning my role at Grievance Officer in early 2020, I have witnessed the power of a shared voice and collective bargaining. Much about the process is frustrating because it can be so slow and tedious at times, but it’s also very empowering and exciting to see the cooperative effort of many coming together for the greater good.

I look forward to continuing to serve as your Grievance Officer and ask that you not hesitate to reach out to me or any of the other officers and/or WSNA Nursing Representative Michelle if you have any questions or concerns.

Questions? Please contact our WSNA Nurse Rep Michelle Moore mmoore@wsna.org.

If you don’t have your current email address, phone number or mailing address provided to WSNA, please update it so you can receive important communications. Send notification to: Membership@wsna.org.

If you are not already, become a member. Our union at Public Health Seattle King County is as strong as the members make it. https://www.wsna.org/membership/application/union

Your WSNA Officers,
Tyler Breier, Carolyn Clark, Tami Nesler and Yolanda Morris