Bargaining Day 11 – After the walking comes the talking
Posted Nov 14, 2024
We met with management yesterday for the first time since our picket (did you see all the amazing signs?)
We weren’t close enough to come to agreement but we are cautiously optimistic about next negotiations on Tuesday, November 19 – come observe!
No Union Chat tonight - we are standing in solidarity with our WSNA Union siblings at VM at their candlelight vigil in response to that hospital’s decision to close their Family Birth Center. We invite all our WSNA family to attend tonight if they can.
Join our next Union Chat on Monday, November 18 at 1900 – following Monday’s Staffing Committee meeting and immediately before our Tuesday, November 19 negotiations.
Safety, Staffing, and Money – oh my
We maintain that there is no reason to wait a full year for weapons detectors, as management proposed. WSNA nurses at Virginia Mason negotiated weapons detectors there last year, with that equipment going live this month. Given all the prep work that WSNA VM nurses and VM management did to make that happen, there is no need to wait a full year at St. Joe’s – especially when there is such a demand (particularly in the ER) now. We reiterated that all units need to have badge-access (management’s sort-of reasoning that some units have “really big foyers” didn’t make a lot of sense to us).
Management’s counter on “innovative weekend schedules” – more commonly known as a “Baylor” shift (a weekend-only shift in which a nurse works two 12-hour shifts and is paid for 36) – came closer to our original proposal. However, management’s proposal still leaves it up to the Hospital’s discretion whether to actually implement these shifts. That won’t work – we know there is interest in these shifts and we are all painfully aware of how under-staffed weekends are. We proposed specific weekend shifts of specific FTEs in specific departments (to begin with); a weekend position that is merely theoretical will not do anything to alleviate staffing problems. Management continues to reject our proposal for ratios that mirror those in Oregon’s law.
Management inched closer to us on money. Like us, management is “packaging” its compensation proposals (meaning, raises, premiums, differentials, etc. are all proposed as one big proposal that the other side can accept as a whole, or reject as a whole). We are still not there on wages. Last session, we proposed a combination dollar and percentage raise in the first year of 5% plus $2.00 at each step for the first year, and then 5.5% for the second year and 4.5% for the third year. Yesterday, management proposed 5% the first year, 3.5% the second, and 4% the third. We’re not there.
It does appear that we are close on shift differentials ($3.00/$5.50 – these would match TG’s which are the highest in the Puget Sound region) as well as how reporting pay works for callback (each time a nurse is called back, the clock is “reset” for earning the three hours of reporting pay). Again – because these are “packaged” proposals, we haven’t formally agreed on these issues, but we are pleased with the progress.
Hospital Staffing Committee
The HSC is meeting again this Monday 11/14/2024 at 0900 in Medical Office Building Conference Room A to vote on plans for all med surg units excluding Oncology. The hospital has presented plans once already and we voted them down due to cuts in CNA and RN staff. The new plans being presented are somehow even worse. We need as many nurses as possible to pack the room and let your voices be heard. We will not accept cuts to nursing staff!
If you would like to attend, please email your nurse rep at JRichardson@WSNA.org
Union Chatroom on Monday, 11/17
join our virtual Union Chatroom on Monday at 1900! This is a casual space to drop in and ask your bargaining team any questions, hear all the negotiations updates, and voice your thoughts with coworkers.
Join the meeting
Meeting ID: 252 561 726 423
Passcode: v3zvZw
Dial in by phone
+1 206-485-2614,,624183534# United States, Seattle
(888) 313-0615,,624183534# United States (Toll-free)
Congrats to our Picket Sign Contest Winners!
We loved seeing all the creative picket signs out there! Megan on 10th Floor Oncology and Sarah on 2 South are the winners and will each be receiving a fifty dollar Michaels gift card. Check out all the signs and get other updates on our Instagram, @sjmc_wsna!
Stay in the loop – make sure your contact info is up to date!
If you haven’t been receiving these WSNA email updates (or know someone else who says they haven’t been receiving them), make sure your contact information is up to date in our system. First, check your junk and spam folders to see if the updates are going there. If you still can’t find the updates, click on this link to update your contact information on our website. It’s critical that we have good home email addresses for everyone before we (eventually) ratify our Contract!
Questions or comments? Contact Rep Jared Richardson at jrichardson@wsna.org or Organizer Grace LaMonte at glamonte@wsna.org.
In solidarity,
Your WSNA Officers and Negotiating Team
Emily Nollmeyer, local unit Co-Chair, Labor and Delivery, day shift
Carina Price, local unit Co-Chair, ICU, night shift
Matthew McGuire, Treasurer/Grievance officer, ED, day shift
Shelly Mead, Grievance officer, ED, day shift
Yunna Flenord, Grievance officer, ICU, night shift
Teresa Kindell, Membership Coordinator, 2S, day shift
Shannon Suchland, Secretary, Walter's OR, day shift
Sally Budack, Co-Secretary, SADU, day shift
Jessica Lenczycki, negotiating team member, Labor and Delivery, night shift
Kate Frazier, negotiating team member, 7th floor, night shift
Sarah Guillen, negotiating team member, EP, day shift
Kat Jabasa, negotiating team member, Main OR, day shift