WSNA Nurses Secure New Contract! 

Your local WSNA officers were able to secure a new contract after 7 months and 13 bargaining sessions with management. If you see an officer, say thank you! These days are unpaid, or nurses must use their PTO to cover it. They remained steadfast in their dedication to advocating for nurses working conditions at St. Luke’s. We had a strong majority of nurses turn out to vote and 3 nurses joined WSNA as voting members! Here are some pictures from your negotiating team and the vote.

Be on the lookout!

Nurses have reached out concerned that their premiums have not changed since the contract was ratified on November 13, 2024. These premiums would include charge, weekend, preceptor, and shift differentials. We would expect that they would start at ratification since it was not bargained any other way. WSNA has filed a grievance over this back pay and is actively working with the Employer to come to a resolution.

Membership matters

Membership in your union is crucial because it provides workers with a collective voice. By banding together, we gain strength and leverage to address your important workplace issues and advocate for your rights effectively.

Why should you join WSNA now if you haven’t before? 

What do you love about working at St. Luke’s? Maybe it’s the recent raises or the stackable certification premiums. Maybe it’s the clinical ladder or second charge nurse on night shift. These are all conditions of your work that WSNA nurses in your hospital have helped secure. These achievements are possible largely in part due to nurses being WSNA members.

The number of nurses involved in their local unit and engaging in committees and events shows Management that nurses know their rights. Management knows every nurse who joins the union is another nurse who won’t back down. Management also knows how many nurses participate since they manage your payroll deductions.

All nurses should know- if the Employer is changing anything that relates to your wages, hours, or working conditions, those are mandatory subjects of bargaining. Nurses at St. Luke’s are joining their union and advocating for their colleagues and their patients. Check out what your hospital staffing committee (HSC) is doing below. Want to get more involved? Join WSNA today and contact your nurse representative, Alle Machorro at amachorro@wsna.org.

Hospital Staffing Committee (HSC) Update

The HSC met on November 20, 2024. At this meeting we reviewed HR data including staff satisfaction survey (GLINT), turnover data, and missed meal and missed break reports. Most of the compliance for not being in staffing plan was missing a second charge nurse on night shift. We asked if that absence was attributed to anything, and management shared it was largely sick calls and a need to train more charge nurses.

From the GLINT survey, management identified the top three areas for improvement to include the following.

• Safety culture- Leaderships actions show that patient safety is a top priority
• Care- At work, I feel cared about as a person
• Action taking- I believe meaningful action will be taken as a result of this survey

There were no Assignment despite objection (ADO) or unsafe staffing forms filed to review. Did you know that any time you feel a situation is unsafe for you or your patient, you should fill out an ADO? We recommend you notify your charge nurse first so issues can be remediated in real time, but these forms are your right, and it is important to document these occurrences. Nurses can file ADO forms for many reasons including equipment failure, acuity, short staffing, missed meal and rest periods and so much more.

Familiarize yourself with the online ADO form here .

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.

Conference Committee Update

We are looking forward to restarting our conference committee meeting with management. This is a joint committee (Article 17.2 of your contract). Nurses meet directly with HR and your CNO to discuss issues facing nurses. We do not make changes to the contract in this meeting but can discuss practice concerns, working conditions like parking or safety concerns, and other items. We will send a meeting summary after our December meeting. Reach out to your officers or Nurse Representative if you have topics, you want addressed with leadership.

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!

Here is a snippet from a previous WSNA nurse on attending 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."

FREE scholarships to attend may still be available. Contact Alle Machorro, amachorro@wsna.org for more information.

Read your most recent WSNA newsletter here including active grievances, member spotlights, and more!

In Solidarity,

Jeff Dubrawski WSNA Chair
Erika Lee WSNA Co-Chair
Noel Wise WSNA Grievance Officer

Interested in getting more involved or joining the team please talk to an officer or WSNA Nurse Rep today! We would love to have you on our team as an Officer or Unit Rep helping guide the work we can do together at St. Lukes.

Questions/ Concerns : Contact Alle Machorro, WSNA Nurse Représentative, amachorro@wsna.org.