PeaceHealth nurses in Bellingham to vote on new tentative agreement May 22 – 23 

More than 100 nurses packed in a small conference room on Friday as their WSNA bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with management at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham.

The agreement was reached after four months, 14 bargaining sessions, two informational pickets, one protest song, and six weeks after their contract expired.

The 1,100 PeaceHealth nurses are represented by the Washington State Nurses Association, and their bargaining team — a group of nurses elected by their coworkers at St. Joseph —recommends a yes vote.

Voting will take place electronically from 6:30 a.m. on May 22 through 8:30 p.m. on May 23.

Three PeaceHealth nurses shared, on video, why they are voting yes:

“We got two tier 1 pharmacies in Whatcom County and eliminated our ghost steps,” said Kristin Malmo, a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital and a member of the bargaining team.

Ghost steps are when nurses are not moved up to the next step, reflecting their increased nursing experience.

“We are averaging a 14 percent salary increase over the life of the contract. I work nights and our night shift differential will be $8 an hour the first year of the contract,” said Amber Pouley, another bargaining team member who works in St. Joseph’s Emergency Department.

PeaceHealth St. Joseph nurses fought to maintain a market-leading percentage-based shift-differential system, which means nurses' night and evening shift differentials will increase annually as wages go up over the life of this contract.

“PeaceHealth doesn’t get to touch our EIB (extended illness bank) this contract,” added K.J. Clark, a bargaining unit member who works as a critical care float nurse.

PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s EIB program allows nurses to take extra, fully paid time off beyond their normal sick days due to an extended illness or severe injury or to take care of a family member who experiences an illness or injury themselves.

WSNA previously reached a tentative agreement with PeaceHealth St. Joseph in March, but nurses voted the agreement down later that month, citing the need for higher wages and improved access to covered healthcare. Since returning to the bargaining table in April, their bargaining team gained several big wins before reaching a new tentative agreement May 16:

• A $4.25/hour raise for all steps in Year 1, plus 3.25% in Year 2, and 3% in Year 3.
• Elimination of all ghost steps, which allows nurses to get pay increases every year.
• A 10.6% wage increase to evening and night shift differential rates starting June 1.
• Tier 1 benefits coverage at two retail pharmacies in Bellingham and Ferndale within 45 days of ratification. Before, the nearest tier 1 pharmacy covered by PeaceHealth’s benefits plan was in Longview, Wash.
• No changes to the extended illness bank. Nurses had previously agreed to reopen the terms of this section of the contract in fall 2025.
• For the first time, the terms that govern hospice nurses will be integrated into the main contract, signaling their important role within the bargaining unit and setting them up for more streamlined bargaining and stronger contract enforcement in the future.

The tentative agreement also includes a process to voice concerns and vent frustrations over the new, unpopular health insurance plan PeaceHealth implemented systemwide in January 2025.

Nurses will have the opportunity to let management how this health insurance plan is affecting them through a forum with hospital leaders held four times a year. Nurses are hoping this dialog will encourage more collaboration and movement from management as it makes annual updates to their health insurance benefits.