Dear fellow Sacred Heart nurses,

Your WSNA executive officer team has been proud to work alongside you these past several years. It has almost been two years since the start of the pandemic, and even more time has passed since we ratified our contract. It has been a time of transition and exhaustion, punctuated by moments of elation and grief, where our attention has been on the worries of the day, not in borrowing trouble in the future.

But it is critical to remind you all: In the fall of 2022, we start bargaining our new Sacred Heart contract with management. We won our last contract due to the hard work, unity, perseverance, and strength that was demonstrated by all of us against a litany of proposed takeaways. Ultimately, our bargaining unit prevailed, negotiating a contract that maintained and made gains in workplace conditions, wages, and benefits. We should take immense pride in this accomplishment; it will impact our bargaining unit for years, and subsequently, our patients’ care, and the achievement we fought tenaciously for echoes through other Providence facilities as a benchmark.

But we aren’t finished; COVID-19 made evident that our fight is not over. We deserve better protections and wages that offset our skyrocketing cost of living. To help alleviate this staffing crisis we all endure, we need a contract that will retain the nurses we have and attract nurses from afar. We have a vested interest not only in the present, but in the future, of our professional family, and a fair contract is critical to that goal. Know this: every single one of us, whether we are a newly hatched nurse or an experienced one about to retire, matters in this fight.

We call upon every member to stand up once again – as we launch the WSNA Local Unit Liaison (LUL) campaign. Click on this link to learn more about the role of the Local Unit Liaison and join with other nurses as we get ready to win a fair contract. You will then be invited to attend one 2-hour training session where you acquire the skills and knowledge to help us accomplish our goal of a fair contract.

We know many of you have been asking, “What’s next?” and are ready to engage. Now is the time. If you want to be an LUL and directly influence the negotiation and labor organization process, please use the link https://wsna.to/SHMCLUL and fill out your details. A personal email address and phone number are required to ensure effective communication, including for previous LULs. By acting now, we will be better prepared to take on any challenge we face in the future.

Please watch this video message from Co-chair Alyssa Boldt regarding opportunities in your union.

https://youtu.be/w5tJ_nwOLk0

Union engagement is empowering. So rise up and find your voice!

In solidarity,

Alyssa Boldt, Co-Chair
Clint Wallace, Co-Chair
Rian Williams, Treasurer
Alle Machorro, Member-At-Large
Darryl Johnson, Grievance Officer
Jaclyn Smedley, WSNA Representative
Will Nesper, WSNA Nurse Organizer