After our last 17 hour bargaining session in November, we were hopeful we'd come to a deal with management for a fair contract. While we've made significant progress in many areas, we were unable to close the gap on meals & breaks and call, two crucial issues for our nurses.

Our next bargaining session is tomorrow on Thursday, December 5, at the Tacoma Courtyard Marriott. We need as many observers as possible to attend and show management that we're willing to keep fighting until we get the contract our patients, coworkers, and community deserve. Observers should arrive at 0930 - make sure you've read the observer guidelines here, and keep your receipt to be reimbursed for parking!

Registration for Lobby Day Closes Soon

There are only a few spots left for our 2025 Lobby Day! If you've been wanting to get more involved in our efforts to pass safe staffing legislation at a statewide level, this is a great way to make a difference. Lobby Day is on February 4 in Olympia - you can find all the details and register here!

Jessica Lenczycki on Labor and Delivery had this to say about her experience at the 2024 Lobby Day: "Lobby Day was the unique opportunity to be face to face with my legislators and advocate for bills that directly affect my nursing environment. There's so much that changes in the healthcare landscape that feels out of my control, and it feels so empowering to be able to speak up and fight for the change I want to see."

Missed a Break? Mark it in Kronos! 

As we approach the next phase in the Washington Staffing Bill, we need to make sure more than ever that our missed breaks are accurately marked down in Kronos and our ADOs. If you don't mark down your missed break in Kronos, there is no way for Labor and Industries to enforce penalties on hospitals that are out of compliance for meals and breaks. We know that counseling for "time management" is a real issue (even if retaliation for reporting missed meal and breaks is illegal), but we cannot allow management to avoid accountability for our missed breaks.

Read the highlights of the 2024 meal and rest break laws here.

We're Thankful for a Strong Union! 

This holiday season, we have a lot to be grateful for - even as we continue fighting for a fair contract that our community deserves.

We're thankful for the dedicated 1200+ union nurses in our Bargaining Unit that provide excellent patient care to our patients and families. We're thankful for the community members that stood with us at our informational picket. And we're thankful that we have a dedicated team of Officers, Unit Reps and Staffing Committee leaders who donate their time and energy towards enforcing our contract and making working conditions better for us.

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