Celebrate St. Joe's WIN at the negotiations table

Thank you to everyone who was willing to support your nurse siblings at St. Joseph’s in Bellingham. As you know, there was an informational picket scheduled for May 3 which was cancelled when they reached a tentative agreement on Friday April 29. We are so happy that they were able to come to an agreement!

Facebook Group

Did you know that United has its own Facebook group? This is a private group for member nurses only from United. It will provide faster updates than our email distribution but also allows for postings by you the members. If you are interested in becoming a member please visit the page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacehealthunitedrns for approval or email Shawna Smith directly with a request at eshcsmith@hotmail.com. Since we have not been able to enjoy face to face meetings or get togethers, we would love to see you all on the page! Its also worth a look since the video from our WSNA leadership conference is up there to view. It’s a great way to stay connected to all things happening at United!

Grievance Update

ULP Update: WSNA filed an unfair labor practice against PeaceHealth corporate for their mismanagement of the Governors Vaccination Mandate. We have completed our grievance arguments and are now just waiting for an arbitrator to be assigned to hear the case and make a determination. More to come on this!

Paycheck Discrepancies

We have heard from several nurses about issues with the correct pay for the work that you all are doing. We have asked for a presentation on how to interpret the paychecks as the paystubs can be as difficult as hieroglyphics to decipher at times. Your officers did receive a handout on common questions and FAQ and will be meeting to determine if this helps to answer your questions. In the meantime, please feel free to ask your manager and/or email payroll and HR with your queries. Please reach out to your grievance officer Kelly Pearson or any of the elected officers if you feel your issue remains unresolved.

Staffing Committee

We have not seen any noticeable increase in staffing concern forms which is good news. However, a large portion of the ones we did receive are related to a lack of CNA’s to assist with the daily care. In addition, there was a surge and uptick in concerns related to the increased bed capacity of the hospital. We have learned the increase in capacity has been extended until September 1, 2022. Currently there are approximately 10 travel nurses with United and 12 travel nurses shared with St. Joseph in Bellingham.

Please continue to complete the staffing concern forms to document the staffing struggle. Please also note that if there is a lack of aides, the RN matrix should be adjusted to account for primary nursing and increased job demands that accompany primary nursing. Management should be accounting for this. Also please note that escalation up the chain of command in staffing situations is expected and leadership welcomes being notified of these situations so that they may assist in problem solving. Do not be hesitant of involving the AOC especially on the weekends or after hours.

Leadership has approached the local nursing schools to recruit Certified Nursing Assistants hoping to offer a win-win opportunity to allow nursing students an opportunity to gain clinical experience while helping out the staffing at United. This has been met with some success however there are some drawbacks – notably that students have limited availability due to class attendance and studies. Leadership welcomes any recommendations from current staff for CNA recruitment.

Education Funds

Leadership did bring a concern forward regarding nurses who submit for education fund reimbursement. Please reference the contract which outlines this process. Article 12.6 states in part “Regular full time and part time nurses shall be provided paid education time per year for purposes of attending educational meetings approved in advance in writing by their manger” In addition, article 12.6.1 Reimbursement for educational expenses reads in part “The medical center shall make available at least $325 for each nurse per calendar year for tuition and course materials related to approved education leave” [emphasis mine].

We recognize that historically, expenses for education were submitted with appropriate receipts and certificates of completion to your payroll associate for processing. However, this now does need to be cc to your manager as well for approval. Rather than make things cumbersome, please just include your manager on the cc to your payroll specialist. That should help expedite the approval process. Please be mindful that this education (per article 12.6) also states “educational meetings is defined as those conducted to develop the skills and qualifications of the nurse for the purpose of enhancing and upgrade in the quality of patient care and shall not include ay meeting conducted for any purpose relating to labor relations or collective bargaining activities”. So unfortunately, under these guidelines, the time spent on the informational picket would not qualify nor would a course on hobbies or other interests. Please let one of your officers know if you encounter any issues with this process.

2022 Leadership Conference in Lake Chelan

We had an incredible experience at the WSNA leadership conference this past April 24-26, 2022 in Lake Chelan. We had fantastic key note speakers and breakout educational sessions that were timely and informative. Not to mention the fun everyone had at this event. Please watch for more offerings – our next big get together will be Convention 2023. And check out the video up on the Facebook group page. For those who would love to attend but need to request the time off in advance, we will provide dates and locations MUCH farther in advance to facilitate this. (This particular leadership conference was a challenge to confirm timely due to COVID restrictions.)

Happy Nurses Week

You are the life, heart and soul of what makes United General truly GREAT. Your officers have prepared a little gift for you all – huge thanks go to all your elected officers who work tirelessly on your behalf on their own time! I add my own special thank you to all of them as well as to all of you!

Thank you!

Sue Dunlap, WSNA Nurse Representative