Today, representatives from MultiCare Tacoma General and Good Samaritan sat down with MultiCare Leadership to discuss concerns about the plan for retention and appreciation bonuses. In attendance were local unit officers, your nurse reps, WSNA attorney, and Scott Allan, Director of Labor Relations for MultiCare.

We agree that these bonuses are a benefit to all nurses and our intent in demanding to bargain over them is to guarantee that they are delivered fairly and equally to all nursing staff, and that any conditions are uniformly applied. We do not oppose or intend to delay the payment of these bonuses to the nursing staff.

Still, MultiCare announced its intent to offer the bonuses without bargaining with WSNA about either the amounts or the conditions that would be attached, as it is required to do under federal labor law. It is also our understanding that MultiCare intends to require nurses to sign a 12-month commitment to continue working for MultiCare in order to receive a retention bonus. Asking bargaining-unit nurses to sign individual contracts in exchange for financial incentives without bargaining with the union is “direct dealing,” a violation of labor law. MultiCare is required to bargain with WSNA before it makes any changes to your wages or working conditions, as we are the exclusive bargaining representative for MultiCare nurses. We take our responsibilities to bargain on behalf of all nurses seriously and will guard our rights using every means available.

For that reason, we have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board regarding recent unilateral changes by MultiCare for its failure to bargain with WSNA before implementation, a concerning trend that we will continue to oppose. We cannot advocate effectively for our nurses if we are not a part of these conversations.

We welcome the decision to offer appreciation and retention bonuses, but we must have a say in how the bonuses are implemented and what conditions will be required of nurses who accept them. It is our intent to bargain those issues with MultiCare as efficiently as possible. Your representatives are working hard to reach agreement with MultiCare to get these bonuses to our nurses.

Today, we were able to discuss items that nurses expressed concerns about and received the following information from MultiCare:

Retention Bonus

1. This will be offered to all staff RNs
   1. Nurses with approved medical/religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate are eligible for the retention bonus.
   2. Nurses who received a sign-on bonus are not eligible for the retention bonus.
   3. Nurses who transfer to positions within the bargaining unit, or to staff RN positions within MultiCare, are still eligible to receive the retention bonus, and will not be subject to repayment unless they do not complete the 12-month commitment.
2. Bonus amounts will be determined by recorded FTE
   1. This is the FTE you were hired to work.
   2. MultiCare is not planning to prorate the bonus based on actual hours worked.
   3. The full bonus amount will be reserved for 1.0 FTEs and will be prorated for all other FTEs.
   4. Per Diem nurses will receive 25% of the retention bonus.
3. Obligation of nurses who receive a retention bonus
   1. MultiCare stated that a 12-month commitment is the only condition.
   2. MultiCare denied that additional conditions, such as mandatory floating, would be required in the retention bonus agreement.
   3. WSNA has yet to be provided with a copy of the agreement that MultiCare intends to require nurses to sign.
4. Payment
   1. First bonus payments will be made no sooner than 10/29/21; otherwise, bonuses will be paid on the first pay period following agreement to the retention bonus conditions.

Appreciation Bonus

1. Nurses will not be able to receive both a retention bonus and an appreciation bonus. You can receive one or the other, but not both.
2. The appreciation bonus is for staff who do not receive a retention bonus.
3. The full bonus amount will be reserved for 1.0 FTEs and will be prorated for all other FTEs.
4. Per Diems will receive $250 (2 payments of $125).
5. No signed agreement or repayment

We are waiting to have additional questions answered and will send an additional communication out when we receive them.

If you have questions, please feel free to email the nurse rep from your facility.
Janet Stewart, Good Samaritan jstewart@wsna.org
Brenda Balogh, Tacoma General bbalogh@wsna.org