Our first negotiations date will be Wednesday, August 21. We'll be kicking off 2024 bargaining with a weeklong celebration of our WSNA pride!

On Monday, August 19, we'll be having our negotiations kickoff event outside the hospital's main entrance, on South J and 17th Street. You can pick up your WSNA shirt for negotiations, enter a raffle drawing for some gift cards, meet your bargaining team and let them know your priorities for this contract, and enjoy some free food with your coworkers. Look for the WSNA banner outside the hospital!

Our first day of bargaining will be on Wednesday, August 21. Make sure you're following our Instagram @sjmc_wsna and have joined our private Facebook group (ask your unit rep to add you if you haven't joined already). We'll be doing video updates throughout the day.

For our future negotiation sessions, we'll be inviting anyone who's interested in coming to observe bargaining. We want to be transparent and open about what happens at the bargaining table, so come and see the process for yourself! Be on the lookout for details about when that will be occurring and how you can attend.

On Friday, August 23, we'll have our first Blue Friday of the year. Wear your WSNA shirts, stickers, buttons, and anything else you can think of that shows that we are Union Strong RNs! Send your photos to our Instagram to be featured on our story.

Unit Reps Needed! 

If you want to learn how to get more involved with our union, sign up here to attend our next unit rep meeting! This meeting is for anyone who is interested in learning more about becoming a Unit Rep, as well as our current Unit Reps. We need as many people as possible to step up and help represent their unit as we negotiate a fair contract for all of us. Even if you're unsure if you can commit to the Unit Rep role, we invite you to come to the meeting to learn more about what the role involves!

Bargaining Team Spotlight: Unit Rep Sara Guillen

Sarah Guillen has dedicated her life to caring for people, though nursing wasn't always her first career choice. Since childhood, Sarah has known she wanted to help others through medicine. Initially, she planned to achieve this by attending medical school and becoming a doctor. However, while volunteering at St. Michaels Hospital in Silverdale, a physician challenged her career path by saying, “Doctors treat diseases. If you want to treat people, you should be a nurse.”

Since then, Sarah has treated countless people in her 14 years as a nurse. She began in the Critical Care Unit at St. Joes and later transitioned to the Cath Lab, where she works with a strong team of nurses dedicated to serving our local community. She joined the bargaining team with a clear goal: to advocate for our patients and colleagues, ensuring safer staffing, adequate breaks, and fair wages that retain staff.

Sarah and the twelve members of the bargaining team are committed to securing the strongest contract possible. However, their power at the bargaining table is only as strong as the 1,150 nurses they represent. Sarah says, “I want the nurses to know that we are here for them. We are a team, and the only way we can help is if we know what everyone needs.” This means showing up to observe negotiations, filling out ADOs, and advocating for each other like we advocate for our patients.

A Pacific Northwest local, Sarah has spent much of her life in Port Orchard and has volunteered with local search and rescue missions in the area. Her dedication to helping others has taken her as far as the Philippines, where she volunteered with disaster relief efforts to assist hurricane victims. In her free time, Sarah loves exploring the mountains with her husky, Bubba. We are grateful to have such a strong advocate like Sarah on our team!

Stay in the Loop!

Make sure you're following our Instagram, @sjmc_wsna, and have joined our private Facebook group (ask your unit rep to add you if you're not already on it). As we approach negotiations, it's crucial to read the email updates and stay informed about what's happening at the table.

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
Jessica Lenczycki, negotiating team member, Labor and Delivery, night shift
Kate Frazier, negotiating team member, 7^th floor, night shift
Sarah Guillen, negotiating team member, EP, day shift
Kat Jabasa, negotiating team member, Main OR, day shift

You can contact WSNA Nurse Representative Jared Richardson, MSN, RN, at jrichardson@wsna.org or WSNA Organizer Grace LaMonte at glamonte@wsna.org.