News you can use
Posted May 23, 2024
See our most recent Newsletter. You will also find it on your WSNA bulletin boards in the 3 main break rooms. This issue has updates on the Hospital Staffing Committee, shift incentives and travel nurse positions.
Nurses United
WSNA Nurses Cowley Clean up
After a recent Hospital staffing committee meeting in March nurses noticed how much garbage was on 7th street. The South side of St. Luke’s campus. This is also where a lot of nursing students were parked for their clinicals.
On Friday, April 26, WSNA nurses from St Luke's, Holy Family and Sacred Heart volunteered their time to clean up together. The nurses met at the recently reopened café and catering business, Fery and Sepi Catering, north of St. Luke’s. They picked garbage on the block from 7th to 4th and around Spokane Veterans Home. (The nurses at Spokane Veterans Home are also represented by WSNA). They picked up a car bumper, bottles, drug paraphernalia, and spark plugs to name a few. They had a truck bedload of garbage to take to Waste Management.
Do you have a good idea for our next community event? Please reach out to your Local unit officer or WSNA Nurse Rep Alle, amachorro@wsna.org.
Nurse week celebration
Your local unit officers and WSNA wanted to celebrate you! Nurses stopped by to get their Nurses Week gift and lunch from Jimmy Johns. Your regional nurses’ association is Inland Empire Nurses Association (IENA). The WSNA represented facilities St. Lukes, Spokane Veteran’s Home, Holy Family, Sacred Heart, Spokane Regional Health District, Providence Visiting Nurses Association, and Pullman Regional Hospital are covered by IENA. They offer annual continuing education events, leadership opportunities and scholarships.
Learn more about them at https://ienanurses.org/.
IENA wants the nurses at St. Luke’s to know they are behind you and support you during contract negotiations. Happy Nurses Week St. Luke’s!
Contract Bargaining continues
Observers join our team!
Your officer team and WSNA staff are back at the table with Management for their fifth contract bargaining session Thursday, May 23.
Do you want to attend negotiations as an observer? This is a great way to keep negotiations transparent and let Providence know that we’re paying attention!
You can spend half or the whole day with the bargaining team. Hear from Management yourself. Join us for a half day, 930-noon, 1-4 pm or all day. Snacks and WSNA T shirts will be provided. Contact WSNA Rep Alle, amachorro@wsna.org for more information. If you’re interested, we’ll be in touch to go over some guidelines.
The June negotiating dates are June 11 and June 21
Additional ways you can support bargaining:
- On bargaining days wear your “I support the Bargaining Team” button, sticker or WSNA T shirt. These can be found on your WSNA bulletin board. Reach out to an officer if you don’t have your WSNA T shirt yet. If you are off campus, we can get one to you!
- Take a picture with nurses on your unit and send it to amachorro@wsna.org.
- Remind your co-workers how important it is to support our union.
- Ensure your personal contact information is up to date https://www.wsna.org/membership/update-info
- Read current and past updates on your WSNA St. Luke’s Local unit page. Search WSNA St. Luke’s anytime. https://www.wsna.org/union/st-lukes-rehabilitation-institute
Membership matters
Membership in the 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?
The number of nurses involved in their local unit and observing at the bargaining table shows Providence that you are united. Management knows every nurse who joins the union is another nurse who won’t back down.
Right now, when nurses are hired at St. Luke’s they do not meet with a WSNA representative during their orientation, like nurses at all other area WSNA represented Providence facilities do. For example, Holy Family and Sacred Heart have a designated time when nurses meet with a WSNA Officer or Rep for an introduction to the union. We are currently asking for contract language at the bargaining table. It is vital that nurses get introduced to their Union contract and representation rights in a timely manner.
Interested in becoming a WSNA member, but need more information? We can help with that. Contact WSNA Nurse Rep Alle Machorro or WSNA Organizer Ryan Rosenkranz for more information.
Sign up to be an eligible voting member.
Fill out the online application or download the "union" pdf, print, sign and give it to a local unit officer.
Call for Unit Reps
Local unit Reps help keep nurses on their unit informed. They function as a connection between your Local unit officers and the nurses on your unit, so everyone stays in the loop regardless of their shift, schedule, or FTE. If you read your emails and texts, know how to file an Assignment despite objection (ADO) form, know where the WSNA St. Luke’s Local unit page is, you are already doing the work and would make a great local unit rep! Sign up for 1-hour virtual training to learn more about how you can help support your local unit. We want every unit to have at least one representative. There isn’t a large time commitment outside of work, and you’ll play an important role in our negotiations.
Next Training: Monday June 3 7-8 pm. Other times and dates are available upon request. Please reach WSNA Nurse Rep Alle Machorro or WSNA Organizer Ryan Rosenkranz,206-867-4627 to get signed up!
Questions/ Concerns : Contact Alle Machorro, WSNA Nurse Représentative, amachorro@wsna.org.
For more information on how you can get involved: Ryan Rosenkranz, WSNA Organizer, rrosenkranz@wsna.org.