We have been hearing loud and clear that Virginia Mason is struggling with the ability to attract and retain nurses. The area market has put VM at a disadvantage and your WSNA officers have been advocating for months both in conference and staffing committees for VM to act. Your voices have been heard! VM has agreed to a 4% wage increase to the ADN scale effective Nov. 13, 2022. BSNs will receive an additional $1 and MSN will receive $2. You can find the MOU in the links bar above, where we will post the fully signed version as soon as it is available. VM has also signaled they are willing to start negotiations for the next contract. Your current contract expires at the end of Aug. 2023.

Incentive shifts

We have memorialized in writing that when a nurse has a sick call in a pay period where he/she has picked up an incentive shift and the nurse has protected sick leave, he or she will still receive the incentive pay. You can find the agreement **HERE**.

Rest Between Shifts

The hospital has temporarily agreed to pay rest between shifts when a nurse voluntarily agrees to stay over to help when staffing is short on a unit, and it puts the nurse into rest between shifts. Please check your paychecks to make sure you are paid appropriately if you don’t get enough time off between shifts. You can find the MOU **HERE**.

7.10 Rest Between Shifts. In scheduling work assignments the Hospital will make a good faith effort to provide each nurse with at least twelve (12) hours off duty between shifts for eight hour nurses, at least eleven (11) hours off duty between shifts for ten (10) hour nurses, and at least ten (10) hours off duty between shifts for twelve hour nurses. In the event a nurse is required to work his/her next scheduled shift with less than twelve (12 hours off (or a ten hour nurse is required to work his/her next scheduled shift with less than eleven (11) hours off or a twelve hour nurse is required to work his/her next scheduled shift with less than ten (10) hours off), all regularly scheduled hours worked without the required time off shall be at time and one-half (1-½). If a nurse is on-call and called back to work during the designated rest between shifts, the Hospital will attempt to accommodate requested schedule changes in order to provide the nurse with needed rest.

Please continue to fill out ADOs. If you are trying to reach management such as HR, payroll, etc. at the hospital and are unable to get assistance, please contact WSNA.

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Sara Frey, JD, BSN, RN, at sfrey@wsna.org.