In these scary times, we are so grateful to you, our members, and all the work that you are doing on the ​“front lines.” We hope that you and your families are staying safe and healthy. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed the way we are all living our lives. This includes your bargaining team. While the Virginia Mason RNs are consumed with the COVID-19 pandemic and concerned with lack of PPE, staffing issues, our own safety at work and the health and safety of our patients and our loved ones, this is not a good time to be in protracted bargaining for normal contract proposals. Your negotiation team has been diligently working for you throughout these difficult times. Due to the pandemic of COVID-19, your team thought that it was in the best interest to have a one-year interim contract providing a 2% raise starting on the paycheck dated June 19, 2020, and a 1.25% raise effective the first pay period after January 1, 2021. The interim contract will also include a few items on which we had reached tentative agreements during the course of the negotiations prior to the pandemic:

Preceptor. New language providing for pay for precepting Nurse Technicians II and clarifying that nurses teaching specific clinical skills or providing skills validation for a block of five hours are eligible for preceptor pay.

Charge Nurse and Clinical Advisor. We removed the reference to Clinical Advisor and House Clinical Advisor because these positions are no longer utilized.

Layoffs. New language allowing nurses six weeks of training, instead of the current two weeks, to become qualified to bump into a position. We also eliminated the “Appeals Board” regarding disputes regarding qualifications in layoff situations because it required bargaining unit nurses, along with members of management, to render judgement on fellow nurses and did not allow a nurse to use the grievance procedure if the nurse disagreed with management’s assessment of his or her qualifications.

LPNs. Previously, RNs hired received no credit for LPN experience. Now, RNs hired will receive 1 year of credit for each two years of recent, continuous LPN experience.

Differentiated Practice Nurses. We eliminated the section of the contract regarding Differentiated Practice Nurses who, years ago, were paid on a salary basis and not on an hourly basis. These positions have not been used for some time.

In normal times, this agreement would be subject to a vote of the WSNA membership. As we all know, these are not normal times. We are unable to have an in-person vote. On April 5, the WSNA Cabinet on Economic & General Welfare adopted an emergency motion that authorizes, for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic emergency, the Executive Committee of the Cabinet (chair, vice chair, and treasurer) to execute an interim contract of up to one year provided that it is in the best interest of the nurses, and provided it is done in consultation with the local unit officers and negotiating team. The Cabinet consists of ten elected members across the state and is the highest-ranking elected body of WSNA collective bargaining program.

We, your WSNA bargaining team, were in unanimous agreement in recommending this one-year interim contract to the Cabinet Executive Committee, which has authorized the contract.

We look forward to getting back to the table with Virginia Mason in Spring 2021 to begin the hard work of negoti­ating a contract that is fair to Virginia Mason nurses.

Your Negotiations Team

Janelle Coy, RN, Local Unit Chair
Kari Benning, RN, Local Unit Co-Chair
Suzanne Baek, RN, Local Unit Secretary/ Treasurer
Sam Asencio, RN, Membership Officer
Susan Dunn, RN, Grievance
Jane Hill Little-John, RN

Michelle Moore WSNA Nurse Rep, mmoore@wsna.org