We completed our tenth bargaining session with Providence St. Luke’s management.  While we reached a number of tentative agreements during the session, there is still work to be done.

We were able to secure language requiring St. Luke’s to schedule new employee orientation with a WSNA representative.  This is critical to building a strong local unit.  We also doubled the Float Pool premium from $1.50 to $3.00 per hour and agreed to add the size of the float pool as an agenda item in the Conference Committee.

We secured new language requiring St. Luke’s to provide orientation and training to all nurses so that they may perform their assignments safely and independently.  If a nurse believes that these conditions cannot be met, the charge nurse and Core Leader must work with the nurse to resolve the issue.

We continue to push for competitive wage increases.  Nurses from the bargaining unit shared their frustration with management at our last session over low pay.  Nurses explained how they struggle to meet the rising costs of everyday life with the low wages St. Luke’s insists on paying. They recounted that St. Luke’s used to be a place they would want to work for 20 years but that it’s difficult to imagine doing now with a wage scale that does not allow for the wage growth that exists at other Providence facilities. For example, the top step for a RN 1 at St. Luke’s is about 46% higher than the starting step.  At Sacred Heart and Holy Family, the top step for their nurses is about 85% higher than the starting step.  Nurses at St. Luke’s simply do not have anywhere near the wage growth potential over their careers.  No wonder why nurses may not want to stick around at St. Lukes.

Nurses also shared that working at St. Luke’s used to feel like you were part of a family.  Nowadays it feels like a revolving door of traveler nurses. Much of the nurses’ time is spent helping travelers care for patients or orienting new staff, all while trying to manage a population of patients that may be coming from the hospital sooner and sicker than in years past.

Management continues to reject our proposal that traveler nurses be low censused before FTE nurses. They continue to demand that dedicated FTE nurses be subject to daily layoffs in the form of low census to keep travelers working. Providence KNOWS that this is not equitable and has long agreed at Sacred Heart and Holy Family to low census agency and traveler nurses before subjecting FTE nurses to mandatory low census. Why does Providence continue to insist on treating St. Lukes’s nurses as second-class citizens? Our message is loud and clear- stop giving traveler nurses preferential treatment over core staff.

How YOU can support your bargaining team:

1. On bargaining days- wear your WSNA T shirt, button or sticker to show you stand with your team. Take a picture with your coworkers and send it to your nurse rep Alle Machorro at 206-707-2048.
2. Union membership- Join WSNA today. When you become a member, it shows management that nurses are paying attention
3. Read the latest newsletter on how and when to file an Unsafe Staffing Form. Speak up for your staffing conditions.
4. Attend a bargaining session as an observer. Next bargaining session is Friday, September 5, 2024. Nurses can observe for 4 or 8 hours.

In Solidarity,
Jeff Dubrawski RN WSNA Chair
Megan Iata RN WSNA Co-Chair
Erika Lee RN WSNA Treasurer
Allison White RN WSNA Secretary
Noel Wise RN WSNA Grievance Officer

Contact your WSNA Nurse Representative Alle Machorro with any questions or to get signed up to observe at amachorro@wsna.org or 206-707-2048.

For more information on how you can get involved: Ryan Rosenkranz, WSNA Organizer, rrosenkranz@wsna.org.