Informational Session

Join us to learn more about what it’s like to serve as a Local Unit Officer, or WSNA Steward. We have two separate times offered. There is no commitment to serve just by attending. There are many ways you can get involved and we will meet people where they are at.

Wednesday May 13
6:30 – 7pm or 7:30 – 8pm

Click here to Join either session

Local Unit Officer Positions

Our WSNA local unit rules have the following officer positions:

Two Co-Chairpersons: The Local Unit Co-Chairs are the leaders and coordinators of the local unit. The Chair is responsible for ensuring that goals and business of the Local Unit are accomplished. The goals are that members are informed and involved, that the Local Unit Rules are followed, and committees are functioning and accountable. Sounds like a big job–it is! Don’t worry– you do not have to do this alone!

One Secretary: The Local Unit Secretary as an officer and member of the Local Unit Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring that all officers and committees of the local unit are notified of upcoming meetings and events. The Local Unit Secretary assists with gathering information for the local unit newsletters and works with the Local Unit Chair in sending the materials to the WSNA Nurse Representative.

One Treasurer: In 1978, the membership of the Washington State Nurses Association voted to allocate a portion of dues paid by each member of a bargaining unit to a local unit fund to be used to support activities of each local unit. Since then, funds have been used to assist local unit officers and others to carry on the important tasks before them in representing the interests of members. The Treasurer’s duties include authorizing and signing for payment of bills that have been approved by the Chairperson; keeping an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements; reporting to the Executive Committee on the status of the dues.

One Member at Large: The member at large is a member of the WSNA officer team that does not have a defined role. They are similar to a “utility player” pitching in to help the other officers as needed.

Two Grievance Officers: The Grievance Officers work closely with the WSNA Nurse Representative to oversee contract enforcement using the grievance procedure found in the contract, and by doing so, advocates for all nurses. Training will be given to anyone elected to the grievance officer positions. We have a large bargaining unit with a steady flow of issues coming up which is more work than one or two people have. WSNA Stewards who receive training in grievances and investigatory meetings can participate on the Grievance Committee which are co-chaired by the two Grievance Officers.

One Membership Officer: The Membership Officer attends new hire orientations to welcome new nurses to WSNA, shares information with them about being in a union, and facilitates signing nurses up for membership. Membership officers also works with stewards to connect them with nurses new to their units, and helps with activities put on by the union.  The membership officer cannot handle this job alone, and will be the chair of the membership committee. WSNA Steward who receive training in membership can participate on the Membership Committee which is a group of WSNA nurses who help divide up the work to attend new hire orientations and welcome new members into WSNA.

Another way to serve – WSNA Stewards

Previously known as Unit Representative, or Unit Reps. WSNA has been refining language to align all our local units with the same terminology and align with common language with unions in general. Stewards are the eyes and ears in the workplace. A strong local unit aims for one Steward on every shift, on every floor or pod or department. This takes about one Steward for every 10 nurses. With PHSW that’s about 140 Stewards! The officers cannot do this alone, it’s a great way to get involved. If you know how to access the contract, talk with your coworkers about how things are going and help get them in touch with the officers and Nurse Representative you’re a lot of the way there already.

Nominations for WSNA Local Unit Officers here at PeaceHealth Southwest

Our local unit’s strength and effec­tive­ness is directly related to the level of partic­i­pa­tion of nurses in our union. Elected volunteer WSNA Local Unit Officers work in partner­ship with the WSNA Nurse Repre­sen­ta­tive and are the foundation of our local unit.

We encourage you to nominate yourself.  If you know someone who would be a good local unit leader, please nominate them, encourage them to run and to fill out a Consent to Serve form.

This time we are offering two options for nomination/Consent to Serve.  The forms are available as fillable PDFs posted to your local unit web page (direct links to each form below or use the link in the bar above) or as an online submission for both nomination and Consent to Serve. You can also use the QR code to access the online form.

Descriptions of each position are included in the PDF nomination form.

If you choose to use the PDF forms, once you have downloaded the form and filled it out, save it and email it back to BPercival@wsna.org.

Nominations will close on Friday, May 22, 2026.

Upcoming and Ongoing WSNA Trainings Available

Join your Nurse Representative and other nurses in 2026 for WSNA Training. We will be looking to add more topics, and ongoing dates throughout the year.  If you and some coworkers need a special date, time or location let Bret know and we’ll get something scheduled. Longview nurses, we see you and are willing and ready to be out there.

Click Here to Register

Steward Training - Evenings 7 – 7:30 pm Virtual Meeting on Teams

Stewards are the foundation of a strong union workplace. Stewards are respected coworkers who know how to find the contract and offer advice or help coworkers get in touch with the local unit officers or Nurse Representative. We will give you a union 101 training to help you in this role.

Wednesday, May 20
Tuesday, May 26
Thursday, June 11
Monday, June 15

Steward Training - Mornings: 10 – 10:30 am Virtual Meeting on Teams

Monday, May 25
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 17

Thirty-minute meetings are scheduled to respect everyone’s time.  Bret will stay on longer to answer questions and talk as needed.

Investigatory Training (In-Person)
7 - 8 pm – Vancouver

Nurses are frequently called to meetings where what they say could be used against them. This training will cover how to attend meetings with your fellow nurses who need representation. This is in-person training where we can role play HR, Management, and the nurse. This 60-minute training will go by fast, and most people comment it was a fun time. 

Wednesday, June 10
Tuesday, June 23

Click Here to Register

For any questions, please contact Bret Percival by email at BPercival@wsna.org or phone at 206-471-0876.