Are you inter­ested in attending the 2021 Washington State Nurses Conven­tion for free?

This year, your Local Unit leaders are sponsoring eight (8) nurses to attend the virtual conven­tion April 28 – 29. This will be on a first-come, first-served basis, so hurry and get in touch!

If you have never been able to fit the conven­tion into your schedule or budget, this is your oppor­tu­nity. This year, we’ll have a fantastic lineup of speakers presenting on impor­tant topics relevant to your practice, including how to achieve patient and workforce safety and how to create a culture of anti-racism in health care. Earn up to 8.25 CNEs!

For more infor­ma­tion and to request sponsor­ship, contact WSNA Nurse Repre­sen­ta­tive, Hanna Welander, at hwelander@wsna.org. Hanna will provide all the details on regis­tra­tion and reimbursement.

TRACKING DEVICES:

Thanks for sending us your concerns about the hospital implementing tracking devices (RTLS). We have demanded to bargain this because it is a change to your working conditions. To investigate this further, we have also sent the hospital a request for information.

HAVING ISSUES WITH INCENTIVE BONUS PAY?

In Conference Committee, we brought up that many nurses have contacted us about bonus payments. You have described difficulty knowing when incentive bonuses are being paid. Management tells us that there has been a processing change. You can no longer see it listed on your timesheet. Some of you might not be checking to make sure you are receiving them. If the bonus payment is not on your paycheck, contact your scheduler via email. Let them know which shift should have been paid as a bonus shift.

Please be sure to always review your paychecks! You are stepping up to help out the hospital and you deserve to be paid for those extra hours! To investigate this further, we have requested information from the hospital. We will keep you posted.

REMINDER! Survey on Master Schedule Changes:

If you haven’t taken the survey about your master schedule, take part.

When meeting in Conference Committee for the past year or so, your WSNA Officers have brought up master scheduling problems. There appears to be a pattern of changes being made to your monthly master schedules by your Unit Scheduler. While nurses may not “own” their schedules, the contract specifies that the employer will “attempt” to maintain master schedules. The hospital is required to provide notice to nurses prior to posting of the work schedule regarding any change from their normal scheduling pattern.

Our members have told us that month to month, schedule changes occur without notice. These changes have resulted in personal difficulty and stress, placing nurses into the position of having to seek coverage for what is supposed to be your regularly scheduled days off. Some have had to resort to requesting PTO 0.0 to ensure that you get your days off. We are collecting data in an aggregate fashion, unit by unit, to determine if there are patterns. We are wondering if this practice is occurring everywhere or just on some units. We have brought up the Schedulers’ workloads, in that the Schedulers are responsible for an enormous number of schedules for Caregivers. This may be a large part of the problem. Thanks for taking time to fill this out. We will continue to advocate and fight for you! Survey closes March 31, 2021, so hurry!

MEMBERSHIP OFFICERS NEEDED FOR NEW HIRE ORIENTATION:

Interested in greeting your newly hired nurses at New Hire Orientation? Come and join us! Every other week there is new hire orientation (currently held via Teams) where we talk to nurses about WSNA membership, how to access your contract, how to reach WSNA Officers, and describe the gains we have made over the years. All training will be provided and it’s fun! If you’re interested, email WSNA Nurse Rep at hwelander@wsna.org.

PPE COMMITTEE UPDATE:

In PPE Committee, we learned that N95 fit testing is required. If you have not been informed about this, please set up your appointment right away. PPE supplies continue to be in the “green” zone. If you have any specific questions about PPE, please email WSNA Nurse Rep at hwelander@wsna.org.

CONTRACT CORNER: Hospital-required mandatory education

If the hospital has educational requirements, you are not required to use your contractual education time. Your education leave is provided to attend outside educational opportunities that you select, such as the NWRNA Transforming Trauma that was held on March 20. If you have to complete mandatory education, the hospital has to pay you for time worked and help arrange it so that you can complete your education. This includes prep time. A couple of articles address this. You may choose to complete your education on a day off and that is in article 7.9. Article 12.5 below is specific to education leave.

Article 7.9 Work on Day Off: All nurses with a .9 FTE or above who have worked their scheduled shifts during a workweek and are called in on their scheduled day off during the same week shall be paid at the rate of one and one-half (1 ½) times the regular rate of pay for the hours worked. Low census, prescheduled PTO, and mandatory education shall count towards hours worked for purposes of this Article. Except in cases of emergency, part-time nurses will not be required to work on a non-scheduled day.

Article 12.5 Education Leave: Nurses shall be provided paid education time per year for purposes of attending educational meetings pertinent to their role as approved by their manager. These include workshops, seminars, and CE Direct online and educational programs. Online education outside of CE Direct must be reviewed and pre-approved by management prior to completion, in at least the following amounts: sixteen (16) hours per year for nurses working an average of less than .5 FTE, twenty-four (24) hours for nurses working an average of .5 to .8 FTE and thirty-two (32) hours for those nurses working an average of .9 FTE and above, provided the number of nurses wishing to attend does not jeopardize hospital services. The term "educational meetings" is defined as those conducted to develop the skills and qualifications of the nurse for the purpose of enhancing and upgrading the quality of patient care and shall not include any meeting conducted for any purpose relating to labor relations or collective bargaining activities.

Upon request, nurses certified by ANA or a specialty nurse organization who are working in the area of their certification shall be provided an additional sixteen (16) hours of paid education time per year pursuant to this provision for the purpose of attending educational meetings directly related to their certification. The Employer will provide tuition reimbursement for continuing education classes and courses necessary to obtain and maintain certification, and for the certification exam when certification is a job requirement. Attendance at courses required by the Medical Center, such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), will be paid at the applicable rate of pay for time worked. Attendance at such courses will be scheduled in advance by management, subject to accommodation for a nurse's previously approved PTO. Where a mandatory class requires mandatory preparation including, but not limited to, reading and/or pre-class tests, time devoted to such preparation shall be treated as qualified compensable paid time, based on the recommended guidelines as established by the professional organization, or absent such guidelines as attested to in good faith by the nurse in collaboration with the nurse manager.

In solidarity from your WSNA Officers,

Laura Bayes, Chair; Geri Falacy, Secretary; Grace Schackel, Grievance Officer, Rhonda Tull, Grievance Officer; Robin Cully, Grievance Officer; Susannah Sharp and Tracy Pullar, Co-Communications; and Darlyce Jerde, Occupational Health and Safety.

For questions, please contact Hanna Welander, WSNA Nurse Representative at hwelander@wsna.org.