Press release / Statement
The Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), Washington State Medical Association (WSMA), and Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WCAAP), representing more than 30,000 health professionals in the state, today issued a joint statement on the COVID-19 outbreak.
This week bills that weren’t considered “necessary to implement the budget” (NTIB) were required to pass out of their fiscal committees by Monday night. Legislators worked the weekend and late on Monday to hear as many bills as possible before the cutoff.
It was a busy week of floor action at the State Capitol. Wednesday night was the House of Origin cutoff which means that all bills not necessary to implement the budget (NTIB) must be voted out of their original legislative chamber or they would no longer be viable. Bills that were voted out prior to cutoff will have hearings in the opposite chambers until the next policy cutoff on Friday, Feb. 28.
Attend your legislators’ Town Hall meetings and advocate for School Nurse Corps funding and other nursing priorities. It’s a great opportunity to hear directly from your legislators.
The Washington State Nurses Association is committed to supporting nurses and reducing barriers to licensure, especially for military spouses and partners. However, WSNA does not support the NLC.
What a week! WSNA nurses were at the Capitol this week – advocating for nursing priorities and working families. On Thursday, nurses from around the state joined WSNA’s Lobby Day and spoke with their legislators on our priority issues.
Around the state, more than 800 qualified nursing school applicants are turned away each year. The primary reason? Vacant faculty positions mean there are not enough nurse educators to teach the courses, even though programs have available student slots.
Professional activism is the engagement of skilled and competent professionals utilizing strategic campaigning to achieve a goal. In nursing, it is nurses coming together to assess a need and identify the problem, design and implement a plan to address the issue, evaluate that plan, and repeat until the problem is solved.
It was a busy week of hearings in Olympia, with WSNA weighing in on many bills. We continued meeting with legislators about our priority issues, including funding for the School Nurse Corps. This week we are highlighting movement on our policy priority related to the need for a more uniform, but also community-based, response system for sexual assaults and making sure that the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners we represent are included in conversations that affect their work.
2020 Legislative Session Week 1 update The 2020 legislative session kicked off on Monday. It’s the second year of the biennium which means that it is a “short” 60-day session. New House Speaker Laurie Jinkins was sworn in on Monday – she is the first woman and first out lesbian Speaker of House. She is a strong advocate for access to health care, public health, as well as nursing and patient safety issues. Former Speaker Frank Chopp remains a member of the House of Representatives and is now sitting on several committees including House Health Care.
The Washington State Nurses Association and UFCW 21 fully support Swedish workers represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW as they serve 10-day notice to the hospital of their intention to strike for patient care and safety at multiple campuses.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Eastern District of Washington allowed Astria Regional to remain closed after a hearing on Jan. 14 requested by the Washington State Nurses Association.
Press release
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Eastern District of Washington allowed Astria Regional to remain closed after a hearing this morning requested by the Washington State Nurses Association.
Statement
Unity of Unions Leads to Tentative Agreement for WSNA – Coalition Continues Push for Agreements at All Providence Hospitals
Press release
After 14 months of negotiations with Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Washington State Nurses Association reached a Tentative Agreement with management at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, January 7 that protects sick time and includes staffing and workplace safety language.
Press release
After ongoing discussions, the three unions representing 13,000 health care workers at 13 Providence hospitals statewide have agreed to pause plans to announce a strike. The parties have made significant progress on key issues.
Press release
The nurses and healthcare workers of the Washington State Nurses Association, UFCW 21 and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW will announce their intent to strike in press conferences Friday, Jan. 3 to be held in Seattle and Spokane.
Some say you must earn accolades for your accomplishments, be highly educated or hold a formal title. I disagree with all the above being a requirement to call yourself a leader. I say it matters more what you do.ws
The Washington State Nurses Association and other unions representing public employees have won an injunction protecting your rights to privacy and safety.
When you see stories about Sacred Heart, we want you to ask yourself a simple question: “Who should I trust—the nurses in my community or a corporate PR department in Seattle?”
The Spokesman-Review’s story “Operating in the red: Providence Sacred Heart has been losing money since 2016” is incomplete, misleading, and timed to hurt Spokane nurses who are negotiating for a fair contract.
Press release
By an overwhelming majority, the WSNA-represented registered nurses at Providence Kadlec Regional Medical Center have ratified a new 3-year contract.
In a historic moment, UFCW 21, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and WSNA leadership have pledged to coordinate efforts that will move us all forward as healthcare workers and achieve the critical advances needed at Providence to provide better patient care and safety.
After the local union meeting and further reflection, I’m moving my vote from “no” to “yes” for the current Tentative Agreement. This is a mixture of good counter-arguments to my concerns, further elaboration of opinions of our negotiation team, and a healthy dose of “mental chess” looking at strike strategy.
