This update provides you information about current contract negotiations, including recent proposals between the County and the Union for a one-year contract extension.

Your current contract expires on December 31, 2024. Your bargaining team began preparing much earlier this year to bring forth the priorities of the staff nurses in negotiations, including three sessions of the longevity committee. This is a recap describing the environment leading up to the present.

Since March 2023, there has been a continuous stream of communications from the employer regarding a budget shortfall and efforts to mitigate the uncertain effects on services and positions in public health (PH) for 2025. We are proud that WSNA nurses brought this issue to Olympia the past two years and that the staff nurses have also joined in actions with their PH union siblings since October of 2023.  Earlier this year, the Executive brought forward the “Harborview option” for funding PH; the County has not finalized plans for this option, including any arrangement with UW Harborview. The County is currently in negotiations with UW Harborview over potential terms of this arrangement. WSNA continues to push for ensuring that PH nurses remain County employees as part of this funding option.

In July, Coalition members ratified the following tentative agreement between the Coalition and the County:

• A one-year extension of the  Coalition Labor Agreement (CLA)
• The health benefits agreement negotiated by the Joint Labor Management Insurance Committee (JLMIC) You can read that here
• A 5.5% wage increase effective January 1, 2025, calculated using:
  • A COLA, calculated using a formula accounting for the CPI-W over time, with a maximum of 4% and a minimum of 2% (the actual COLA calculated in July using this formula was just over 4%) A 1.5% Coalition General Wage Increase (GWI) ratification incentive (had the COLA been less than 4%, the GWI would have been adjusted up to get to 5.5%

We communicated when the JLMIC agreement was negotiated that it included increased out of pocket costs for health benefits in 2025. The JLMIC negotiations resulted from the reserve fund dropping below a certain level. In these months-long negotiations, JLMIC opted for an agreement that secures a specific amount, instead of the uncertainty of going to arbitration, which would have been required had no JLMIC agreement been reached.

This brings us to today. Due to the unique conditions described, we have opted to begin exchanging proposals with the County for a one-year extension with some additional benefits for you. The WSNA Supervisors are also pursuing this, understanding that if an agreement for a one-year extension is reached, we would return to negotiating again for the 2026 agreement in January 2025.

Our proposals include:

• A 5.5% GWI effective January 1, 2025.
• A continuation of the reduced parking rate at KCCF for day jail health nurses through December 31, 2025.
• Advanced degree premium
• Telecommuting and alternate work schedule language that provides any requests may not be unreasonably denied and any denials must be in writing.

MORE:

Save Public Health: We will discuss updates as we receive at upcoming site visits for PHN’s. See the updated flyer from the Save Public Health coalition, posted on your WSNA webpage.

Virtual Sip n’ Chat in September, communication to follow. Several site visits are being scheduled with WSNA site reps right now for JHS, CHS and Prevention.

Local unit officer nominations are open until August 30! The foundation of your staff nurse local unit structure is strong membership AND a full slate of elected and appointed WSNA members as officers. Only WSNA members may hold office. Many ask if you can nominate yourself. The answer is YES! You may email questions and/or nominations directly to Nurse Representative Tara Barnes tbarnes@wsna.org  Descriptions of each position are included in the electronic nomination form.

Do not delay, your local unit needs more nurses to submit nominations and time is running out! Once eligibility and consent are confirmed, we will notify WSNA members that ballots have been sent by mail.

Thank you to your WSNA staff nurse bargaining team!

Elena Schensted, NFP Columbia

Tina Lajoie, NFP Downtown

Carolyn Clark, KCCF

Tami Nesler, RJC

Tyler Breier, Childcare Health Program