Your bargaining team recommends a *YES* vote.

Highlights of the TA as of December 12 (more detailed info to come)

Congratulations to all of us! After the bargaining team gave St. Joe’s a 10-day notice of the Cath Lab and EP’s intent to strike over the holidays, we came to a Tentative Agreement (“TA”) around 0100 today. We have made remarkable strides in wages (on par/better than many Seattle hospitals), meals & breaks (dedicated number of FTE break nurses – first in Washington that we know of plus agreement that “break buddies” would only be used rarely (if ever) and only as a last resource), a new “Baylor” (weekend only) shift with 8 Baylor positions guaranteed through the life of the contract, a new noc bonus for experienced noc RNs, fair & equitable call that hems in management’s ability to coerce nurses into taking mandatory call – including the highest standby rates  in Washington, wage equity for international nurses, credit for time as an LPN, weapons detectors and all units locked by the end of the contract, Juneteenth, a statute of limitations for discipline, and more. More information and details to come.

We are nailing down the specifics of the ratification vote, which will be next week. We anticipate that voting will be electronic with an in-person option – more on those details as soon as we have them. We’ll announce the vote count immediately after, and all nurses in good standing are welcome to participate or observe (details forthcoming on what it means to observe an electronic vote count). You must be a member in good standing to vote (meaning, you’re a dues-paying member); you can always fill out a membership application here. Make sure your information, including your email and address, are up to date. You can update your membership information here. Bargaining team members, your nurse rep and organizer, and attorney-negotiator will be present to answer questions in person and virtually at the Union Chatroom tonight at 1900, and will be holding drop-in info sessions tomorrow at the cafeteria from 0730-0900 and 1700-1930. There will be more virtual information sessions next week (date forthcoming) on how to use the new online voting system. 

You can join the union chatroom here:
https://tinyurl.com/SJMCUnionChatroom

Meeting ID: 252 561 726 423
Passcode: v3zvZw
Dial in by phone
+1 206-485-2614,,624183534# United States, Seattle
(888) 313-0615,,624183534# United States (Toll-free)

 Here are highlights of the Tentative Agreement; a more comprehensive summary will be available shortly. Full red-lined (marked-up) copies of the changes between the old and newly negotiated contract will be available on-line in the next few days so that members can review that prior to electronic voting.

If ratified, the contract will become effective the day of ratification; all economic changes become effective the second full pay period after ratification. That means, if this contract is ratified, raises, differentials, and all other money-related improvements will start on 1/5/25 and will appear in 1/24/25 paychecks.

• Wage Scale – Effective the second full pay period after ratification (that is, Sunday, January 5), all steps will be increased by a combination of a 4.75% increase plus $1.50. The base wage will jump from $42.50 (current) to $46.02. This will be the highest base wage in Pierce County, and higher than many starting rates in Seattle. The 25-year step will jump from $81.57 (current) to $86.94. This is the highest rate in the Puget Sound region for the 25-year step – VM caps out at $86.18, and Seattle Children’s nurses wouldn’t make this much until Step 34.
  • All nurses will receive a raise of/the wage scale will increase by 4% the first full pay period after Nov. 1, 2025.
  • All nurses will receive a raise of/the wage scale will increase by 4% the first full pay period after Nov. 1, 2026.
  • For example, a nurse who is on the base step today ($42.50) and who has an anniversary in April would see their wage increase like this:
    • $46.02 in Jan. ’25
    • $47.95 for their step increase in April ’25
    • $49.86 in Nov. ’25 (the 4% contract increase) – that’s a 17.3% increase in fewer than 12 months!
    • $51.74 for their step increase in April ‘26
    • $53.81 in Nov. ’26 (4% contract increase)
    • $55.85 for their step increase in April ’27
    • A nurse on the base step today would experience a 31.41% pay increase over the life of the contract.
  • A nurse who is on the 25 year step today ($81.57) would move to $86.94 in Jan. ’25, $90.42 in Nov. ’25, and would be making $94.04 by Nov. ’26 – a 15.3% increase over the life of the contract.
  • The new wage scale is attached at the end of this Summary.
• Ratification Bonus. $1,300 pro-rated by FTE (for purposes of this bonus, 0.9 FTE = 1.0, per diems = 0.2) for nurses who were employed in the unit as of the expiration of the contract (10/31/24) and who are employed in the unit at the time of payout (which is no later than the payday for the second full pay period following ratification – 1/31/25).
• Wage Equity for International Nurses. Historically, SJMC has determined wage scale placement for nurses with foreign experience by crediting them with only one-half year for every one year they worked as an RN abroad. That is, our RN coworkers from the Philippines, India, Ghana, and other countries (Canada exempted) with, for example, 10 years experience as an RN in their home country would have only received 5 years credit. The Hospital has no policy, no reasoning, no justification whatsoever for this discriminatory pay practice against Black and brown international nurses. It’s a fundamental union tenet that an injury to one is an injury to all – in addition to this being an issue of wage justice and racial equity, this practice has allowed SJMC to pay some nurses with the same qualifications and experience at lower rates. That is, every nurse’s wages are undermined if management is allowed to pay some nurses less; the fact that SJMC has been dividing us based on racial and national origin lines makes this practice particularly egregious.
  • This is greatly simplified - all international nurses who believe that they are at a lower step than they should be will have six months following ratification to put in for a re-step assessment. All nurses who are re-stepped will receive retroactive pay back to when the raise for this contract kicks in (including credit for any anniversary increase they should have received in the interim).
• LPN parity. For an RN hired after ratification who also has LPN experience, SJMC will credit that LPN experience year for year. This is a proactive provision and wouldn’t impact any current SJMC nurses.
• Premiums and Differentials.
  • Standby Pay will increase to $6/hour (up from $4.75, a 26.3% increase) for required call shifts.
    • For “open” call shifts after a nurse has signed up for their required call shifts and before the schedule is posted: $15/hour plus $6/hour (regular standby) - $21/hour standby pay for open call.
    • For call shifts that open after the schedule has been posted: $15 plus $6 plus an additional $5 - $26/hour standby for open call after the schedule has been posted.
    • Callback. If a nurse is called back multiple times during their call shift, and those callbacks occur within a 3-hour period, the 3-hour reporting pay minimum “resets” with each callback. For example, if the nurse is called in at 0100 and again at 0300, that nurse would receive a total of 5 hours callback pay because the 3-hour period started at 0100, and then reset at 0300: 0100-0300 equals 2 hours of callback pay, then 0300 on is an additional 3 hours of pay.
  • Shift Differentials. Night shift diff will be $5.50 (up from $4.75).
    • (New!) Night shift longevity bonus. (ngl – we’re really proud of this win to both reward experienced RNs who stick it out on night, and to try to improve noc retention) In 2025 and 2026, any nurse with 5 or more years of RN experience who works noc will receive an annual bonus of $1,000, paid in the last paycheck of the calendar year. If the RN reaches 5 years of experience, or a 5-year RN starts working noc, after June 30 of that year, they’ll receive $500 that year; if these things happen on/before June 30, they’ll receive the full $1,000.
  • Charge Nurse Pay up to $3.50 (from $2.75 – a 27.3% increase).
  • Resource Nurse Pay up to $2.50 (from $2.25 – 11.1% increase).
  • Preceptor Pay up to $2.00 (from $1.25 – 60% increase).
  • Weekend Premium up to $4.00 (from $3.00 – 25% increase).
• Required Call. The number of scheduled call shifts that an FTE nurse will be required to take per schedule is equal to the total number of call shifts required during a schedule divided by the number of RNs when the unit is staffed according to the staffing plan. This means that a manager can’t factor in the number of nurses that are on LOA, or the number of unfilled positions – which has the effect of  punishing the nurses who are still working with a disproportionately higher amount of call for reasons beyond their control – in determining how many required call shifts each FTE nurse has.
• Baylor (“Innovative Weekend Shift”) Shifts. These are weekend only shifts that are paid at, essentially, 1 ½x. A nurse’s regular schedule is 2 x 12 hour weekend shifts, however, they are considered 0.9 for purposes of pay and medical, vision, dental benefits/co-premiums. Baylor nurses earn seniority and PTO based on hours worked (the equivalent of 0.6). Baylor RNs qualify for all premiums and differentials except consecutive weekend pay. If a holiday falls on the weekend, a Baylor RN will work that shift regardless of holiday rotation, and will receive 1 ½ on top of their higher wage rate.
  • We went to the mat to get in writing that the Hospital would maintain 8 Baylor positions through the life of the contract. Two of those 8 are dedicated to Critical Care; 6 to be allotted at the Hospital’s discretion. Positions to be posted within 3 months following ratification.
• Meals & Breaks
  • The contract guarantees no fewer than 26 FTE break nurses. This is the only contract in WSNA that has a dedicated FTE of break nurses.
  • Contract language defines a break nurse as “a registered nurse who has no patient assignments and whose work responsibility is to provide care for the patients of a nurse so that nurse may have an uninterrupted meal period or rest break.
  • “Break buddies” will not be used as a practice, will be used rarely, if at all, and only as a last resource. They will not be included in any meal & break plan. By July ’25, the Hospital will develop a system for RNs to report when a break buddy covered for them.

1. Workplace Violence Prevention 
   • Weapons Detector Pilot Program No later than six months after ratification, the hospital will start a Weapons Detector pilot program in the Emergency Department.
     1. The Hospital will collect and share with the Union monthly any objective data or reports of incidents in which the weapons detector was engaged, including all reports of weapons or contraband detected and/or confiscated.
     2. The Hospital ultimately decides upon the fate of the pilot program but will provide a written decision based primarily on data it had previously shared.
   • All units that are currently open will have card swipe-locking mechanisms by the end of this contract.
2. Juneteenth. This replaces President’s Day starting 2025. Last contract cycle, the Hospital refused to consider this.

• Donations to the Bargaining Team – Nurses can donate PTO hours to the bargaining team to help defray the unpaid time of 14 bargaining sessions, not to mention prep and work away from the table. This is the only compensation that the volunteer bargaining team will receive.

We know that was a LOT of information – so make sure to join our union chatroom tonight to walk through this agreement in more detail and drop in to the cafeteria tomorrow from 0730 – 0900 or 1700-1930 before or after work to speak more with us! You can join the union chatroom here:
https://tinyurl.com/SJMCUnionChatroom

Meeting ID: 252 561 726 423
Passcode: v3zvZw
Dial in by phone
+1 206-485-2614,,624183534# United States, Seattle
(888) 313-0615,,624183534# United States (Toll-free)

In solidarity,
Your WSNA Officers and Negotiating Team
Emily Nollmeyer, local unit Co-Chair, Labor and Delivery, day shift
Carina Price, local unit Co-Chair, ICU, night shift
Matthew McGuire, Treasurer/Grievance officer, ED, day shift
Shelly Mead, Grievance officer, ED, day shift
Yunna Flenord, Grievance officer, ICU, night shift
Teresa Kindell, Membership Coordinator, 2S, day shift
Shannon Suchland, Secretary, Walter's OR, day shift
Sally Budack, Co-Secretary, SADU, day shift
Jessica Lenczycki, negotiating team member, Labor and Delivery, night shift
Kate Frazier, negotiating team member, 7^th floor, night shift
Sarah Guillen, negotiating team member, EP, day shift
Kat Jabasa, negotiating team member, Main OR, day shift

Questions or comments? Contact Rep Jared Richardson at jrichardson@wsna.org or Organizer Grace LaMonte at glamonte@wsna.org.