Retention update

Just because your contract was ratified, doesn’t mean that we are done fighting for you. We have asked Virginia Mason multiple times about their plan around retention of nurses and are still waiting to hear back anything concrete. We know that skilled and talented nurses are leaving Virginia Mason. We have made it clear to hospital leadership that this is an issue that needs to be addressed before we lose more skilled nurses.

We want to promote a respectful and collaborative approach to solving this widely felt issue and need something more than just a band-aid quick fix and pandemic-related excuses. This has been a problem from long before COVID and is not going to resolve itself without some effort from hospital leadership.

Conversations around staffing continue to occur in staffing committee meetings but we need a clear plan from VM moving forward around retention and recruitment. Without the nurses to staff the hospital, it wouldn’t run and our community would not get the care they need and deserve.

Are you passionate about advocating for your co-workers and elevating the voices of the nursing profession? Consider joining the safe staffing committee or becoming a point person for your unit (Unit Rep). Contact Crystal Doll for more information at cdoll@wsna.org.

The campaign for a safe staffing law in Washington state Is HERE – Join us!

After years of inaction by hospital employers and months of unsustainable patient levels, we are joining together across three health care unions to make our voices heard across the state. We’re calling for a sustainable, accountable commitment to safe staffing in every department of every hospital in Washington state.

Join the launch of our statewide campaign to ensure that we can care for patients safely, retain qualified staff, recruit new people into our industry, and create sustainable and resilient healthcare systems for our communities. Together, we’ll discuss the details of our call-to-action to state legislators to pass real change for healthcare workers statewide.

Union members will receive a call at 6:00 pm on Monday 12/13. See your email or text messages for call details, or speak with your union shop steward, delegate, representative, or organizer.