We met on Thursday, May 27, for our 5^th bargaining session and walked away feeling as if we made some progress….but not enough.

Your WSNA negotiation team was able to secure language on Rest Between Shift to have the penalty premium applied to all hours worked on the next shift without sufficient rest and not just some of the hours on the next shift.

We pushed back on management’s proposals to require nurses to give more notice of resignation, to increase the time of commitment to a position, to lengthen the probationary period during which nurses do not have “just cause” protection and to add holiday work requirements for Per Diem RNs. We successfully fought off these proposals.

Management is proposing to provide a certain dollar amount for uniforms rather than providing for a guaranteed number of garments. Who knows what you will be able to purchase in the future with a set dollar amount.

Appropriate staffing remains a top priority for our team. We want there to be enough staff for the nurses to be able to take their every break, to get every meal and to use their education time and vacation that they have earned. Nurses deserve their time off when it works best for them!

WSNA has proposed an automatic trigger for Incentive Shift Premium to be offered when short staffed. We want to ensure that holes are filled quickly and that nurses have as much advance notice of open shifts should they want to pick them up.

Management is proposing to change the customary use of seniority for vacation approval and to cancel your vacation if there is not enough annual leave in bank due to low census.

We have proposed fair, competitive wage increases for all RNs. Management has proposed different wage increases for ADNs, BSNs and MSN. We need every nurse that we can get to help with our staffing issues. Management should value the contributions of ALL of its nurses.

Management is attempting to find short term solutions while our WSNA team of RNs is focused on meaningful, long term solutions. Management’s proposals are inadequate for the issues that we have raised.

Your team continues to do the work at the table to get a fair contract. Your priorities remain our driving force.

Our next session is sched­uled for June 11, 2021.

In Solidarity,
WSNA Negoti­a­tion Team; Jane Hill-Little­John, RN, Kari Benning, RN, Susan Dunn, RN, Arlene Alba, RN, Suzanne Baek, RN

For questions, contact Michelle Moore at mmoore@wsna.org.