Happy July, St. Joes RNs! We have 120 days until our contract expires on October 31 - time to get ready to fight for a fair contract for our hospital, our patients, and our community. We'll be sending out details and a save the date soon for our initial negotiations kickoff event. Stay tuned!

Upcoming Unit Rep Meetings

We are hosting our quarterly in person unit rep meeting at South Tacoma Library for 7/30 from 1230-1430 and 7/31 from 1700-1900. We'll also be holding virtual trainings throughout the month of June for anyone that wants to learn more about becoming a Unit Rep. If you're a current unit rep or interested in becoming one, sign up at this link!

Juneteenth Event Success 

A huge thanks to the hundreds of nurses and community members who celebrated Juneteenth with us last month by signing the petition calling for St. Joes to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. This contract negotiations, we're fighting to strengthen our Racial Justice Taskforce and demanding St. Joes put their values into action by centering the nurses and patients in our community.

Bargaining Team Spotlight: Membership Coordinator TK

Teresa Kindell (TK), a fourth generation nurse and PNW local, wants her coworkers to see the power in our union.

She knew she wanted to be a nurse from a young age. At 14 she went with her mom to the critical care unit for take your daughter to work day. It was there she saw first-hand nurses in action, taking care of patients and helping people get better.

TK has been working at St. Joes in the ACC for the past fourteen years. Her favorite part about working there is mentoring new nurses and watching them connect the dots. TK also leads the effort to welcome St. Joes RNs at our New Employee Orientation, where she welcomes them into our union and goes over the contract and our rights as union nurses.

In her spare time, Teresa is an avid traveler. She loves to get to know other cultures, and always makes an effort to take a cooking class when she goes somewhere new. Teresa’s dedication to welcoming our new nurses and strengthening her union makes St. Joes a better, more welcoming place for our coworkers and patients. We're grateful to have her on our negotiations team!

Did You Get Your Break?

Nearly half of the survey responses indicated that break nurses are often pulled for other assignments, and over half reported that "break buddies" are used to provide breaks. We know break nurses are crucial for ensuring safe patient care. Please remember to clock EVERY missed break and fill out an ADO. This protects your license and provides your staffing committee with accurate data to show management the need for more break nurses.

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.