WSNA/PVNA Contract
General Summary
April 10 and 11, 2025 

We are pleased to announce that we have reached a Tentative Agreement for a new contract after 15 bargaining sessions over many months.

Below are the details:

Term:

Contract will expire on February 28, 2028.
 
 
Wages:

4% market adjustment plus an additional 4.5% wage increase effective the second full pay period following ratification;
2%      the first full pay period following February 1, 2026;
1.5%   the first full pay period following August 1, 2026;
2%      the first full pay period following February 1, 2027;
1.5%   the first full pay period following August 1, 2027.

These wage increases are in addition to the step increases nurses receive over the life of the agreement.

Premiums and other compensation:

Weekend Premium [New].  Nurses who work on a weekend shall be paid a premium of $2.50 per hour for all time worked on a weekend.

On-Call Pay.  On-Call pay is increased from $2.60 to $3.00 per hour.  Night On-Call pay is increased from $7.00 to $7.50 per hour.

Master’s Degree and Certification Premium.  Currently, nurses who have a master’s degree or have been granted certification credentials receive a 2.5% premium over their rate of pay.  Now, instead of a 2.5% premium, nurses who have a master’s degree shall receive a premium of $1.50 per hour. Nurses who have a CWOC, CWC, COC, CCC, WTA-C, CDCES, CWOCN, PMH-BC or NPMH certification and work in their area of certification will receive a $2.50 per hour premium. Nurses who have other certification credentials by a national certifying body and approved by the PVNA director or have a master's degree in a healthcare field that is not an advanced nursing practice master’s degree shall receive a premium of $1.50 per hour. Nurses with multiple certification credentials receive only one certification premium.

Preceptor Premium.  Increased from $1.00 to $2.00 (a 100% increase).

Charge Nurse Premium.  Increased from $1.50 to $3.00 (a 100% increase).

Shift Differential.  This section was removed because there are now shifts triggering the pay.

Relief Nurses.  Management insisted on changing the way that relief nurses are compensated,
moving from a percentage-based to a flat dollar-based compensation system.  Relief nurses who have a scheduling commitment of four shifts, including one weekend shift, per four-week schedule shall be paid a premium of $6.75 per hour. Relief nurses who have a scheduling commitment of six shifts, including two weekend shifts, per four-week schedule shall be paid a premium of $8.25 per hour. All relief nurses must be available to work one recognized holiday per year.  Relief nurses must provide management with their dates of availability for open shifts three weeks prior to the posting of the schedule. Relief nurses may identify one 4-week per calendar year for which they have no availability commitment. Additionally, relief nurses will receive sick leave.

Continuing Education Leave.  Reimbursement for expenses related to education leave has been increased from $250 to $300.

Medical and Other Insurance.  PVNA will provide comprehensive health and insurance benefits to bargaining unit nurses. Beginning on their date of hire, a nurse regularly scheduled to work twenty (20) hours per week or more (.5 FTE and above) has the option to participate in the benefits plans provided by the Employer on the same basis as offered to non-represented employees.  Participation in the benefits program provided by the Employer shall be subject to specific plan eligibility requirements and plan documents.  Annually, PVNA will provide WSNA with at least sixty (60) days’ notice of any material change in the plans before the change is implemented and upon request, will be given an opportunity to discuss the impact on its bargaining unit members.

Workplace issues:

Workplace Violence.  We spent a great deal of time advocating for a safe work environment.  We secured new language requiring PVNA to provide a safe working environment and to, among other things, provide nurses with Bond Air Guardian or similar services at no cost and quarterly self-defense training.  Nurses will not be forced to care for patients in situations where they observe drug use, weapons, and/or threatening behavior. At intake, all patients shall be reviewed for drug use, history of violence or previous Complex Case Review.  Such information shall be placed in the Directions Tab in the patient’s chart.  A security and safety assessment of each patient shall be provided to the assigned nurse before the patient assignment is made. The nurse providing care for the patient shall notify a manager of any safety concerns identified while caring for the patient and document those concerns in the patient’s chart for further review.  The nurse shall be involved in decision making as to whether a Complex Case Review is warranted. Nurses concerned about instances of, or potential for, workplace violence are encouraged to submit a Workplace Violence Concern Form to the PVNA Safety Committee.  The PVNA Safety Committee will address all Workplace Violence Concern Forms and complete a written analysis and report of recommended action which will be provided to the nurse who completed such form. Nurses shall not be retaliated against for reporting incidences of workplace violence per the Employer’s policies or for submitting Workplace Violence Concern Forms.

Travelers and Low Census.  Agency and traveler nurses will now be low-censused before other nurses are forced to be low-censused.

Bargaining Unit Rosters.  Management will now provide WSNA with monthly employee rosters.

Nurse Clinician and Clinical Nurse Specialist.  These titles have been removed because of the way compensation for certification and master’s degree premiums have been changed.

Grievance Procedure.  We secured new language requiring management to meet with us within 10 days of filing a grievance.

The vote starts on April 10 at 0700 and closes on April 11 at 2100.  Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Kitt Ruchert at kruchert@wsna.org.

Your Team,
Kathleen Thompson, Amanda Crawford, and Carolyn Chandler