Union

Central Washington Hospital

Congratulations to our new officers!

Chair: Samantha Goff

Co-Chair: Crystal Clabaugh

Secretary: Lorna Sebastian

Treasurer: Stefanie Gates

Grievance Officers:
Amanda Cortes
Michelle Rae

Membership Officers:
Nicholas Jackson
Paul Molenaar

A special thanks to Susan Chapman and Judy McBride for all the years of leadership they have given on our behalf. We wish you all the best.

Negotiations update

We are still working on dates for our upcoming negotiations.

Questions? Contact a negotiation team member or WSNA Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org.

Urgent news on the upcoming elections

Have you mailed in your ballot? We currently have not received any completed Officer Election Ballots. The WSNA office will be closed the week of Christmas and New Years Day.

We are extending the postmarked date to Jan. 3 and will count the ballots during the week of Jan. 7. If you have not received your ballot, please contact Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org.

Plan on attending the local unit meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 8 or Thursday, Jan. 10 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Conference Room J at the hospital.

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison, BSN, RN at cgarrison@wsna.org.

Join us at a local unit meeting

It's time to start prepping for negotiations. Thank you to those who completed the survey – that was step one.

Now we need to meet with you. These are drop-in style sessions.

Tuesday, Jan. 8
Thursday, Jan. 10

5:30-8:30 p.m.

Conference Room J at the hospital

Questions? Our nurse rep is here to help: Carmen Garrison, BSN, RN at cgarrison@wsna.org.

Come Join Your Officers For A Wsna Local Unit Meeting

Ballots are in the mail

Rosie

It’s time for elections. If you are a member in good standing, you should receive your local unit ballot in the mail. Please look out for this very important document.

The ballots must be postmarked by Dec. 21.

Our outgoing officers are Judy McBride and Susan Chapman. Remember to thank them for their many years of service advocating for all the nurses at Central Washington Hospital.

If you have any questions, please contact WSNA Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org or 206-491-9424.

Did you receive a call for nomination form?

It has come to our attention that some of you may have received an empty envelope from WSNA. It was supposed to include the call for nomination form and a self-addressed envelope. If you received an empty envelope from WSNA, please contact Carmen Garrison immediately at cgarrison@wsna.org.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your commitment to selecting your local unit leaders.

Elections and Call for Nominations:

It’s time again for local unit officer elections.All members in good standing will be receiving a call for nominations form in the mail. Please complete and return the form as soon as possible. The last date for postmark is Nov.19. You can nominate yourself or anyone who has shown an interest in being more involved. If you have any questions, please read your Local Unit Rules and Bylaws

The plan is to have the ballots out as soon as possible after Nov. 26. You can also contact your Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org

It's time to vote on the Peri-op Call Letter of Understanding

Pumpkins2

The revised Peri-op Call LOU is ready for a vote. The vote will be held:

Nov. 19, 2018
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Conference Room A&B (at the hospital)

We are recommending a YES vote. Read the LOU here.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Carmen Garrison, our WSNA nurse representative, at cgarrison@wsna.org or at 206-491-9424.

What's going on in your local unit?

Elections and Call for Nominations:

It’s that time again for local unit officer elections. You’ll be receiving a call for nominations form in the mail. Please complete and return the form as soon as possible. The last date for postmark is Nov. 9. You can nominate yourself or anyone who has shown an interest in being more involved.

Your current officers:

For the past 3 years, your local unit leaders have been there for you. Please thank your current officers for their dedication and service over the years. Some of the officers have decided not to run again, having been your leaders for many years and are looking at the possibility of retirement. Many of them are willing to run for office again.

Get to know them! Read more about your current officers here.

Their contact information is available in the Officers & Nurse Rep tab or here.

Negotiations:

The negotiation survey is now open! As the first step, we need to know what is important to you as we prepare to go into negotiations at the beginning of the year.

Complete the survey

If you have any questions, feel free to contact WSNA Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org.

TCU and Transfer Center closures

We have been given notice of the closures of the TCU and TC. We are meeting with the RNs in both departments on Aug. 30 and 31 at the following times and locations:

Aug. 30
7:30 - 9 p.m.
Conference Room Conference Room H

Aug. 31
7:30 - 9 a.m.
Conference Room K

The bidding process is scheduled for:

Sept. 7
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
ADMIN Conf Rm (in the old HR Department on the first floor near the main entrance of the hospital)

The hospital has assured us that no one will be laid off in this process.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact WSNA Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org or (206) 491-9424.

Salaried LOU vote results for Peri-op

The vote was held today, Aug. 6. The votes were counted at 1 p.m. and witnessed by three OR RNs and Carmen Garrison, your nurse representative at WSNA.

It was an overwhelming NO vote. The current LOU that is attached to your contract is still in force. Thank you to everyone for coming out to the vote and making your voices heard.

We will keep you posted on next steps.

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Rep Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org.

Union Leadership Summits

June 10-11, 2018
Campbell’s Resort
104 W. Woodin Ave., Chelan, WA 98816
Networking social on Sunday, 6-8:30 p.m. and CNE on Monday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
more info

Register Now

Sept. 30 – Oct. 1, 2018

Campbell’s Resort
104 W. Woodin Ave., Chelan, WA 98816
Networking social on Sunday, 6–8:30 p.m. and CNE on Monday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
more info
Registration coming soon.

All nurses are encouraged to register now for the WSNA Union Leadership Summit in Chelan. Members can use Local Unit funds to pay for travel expenses.

Save the date!

Local unit meeting on April 19th from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the Saddlerock Presbyterian Church (1400 S Miller St).

December 16 20131630 2000 The Vancouver Hilton

Ratification Vote: Transfer Center RNs

Congratulations and welcome to WSNA. The vote was a unanimous "YES" vote.

Thank you to the negotiating team: Linnea Paull-Ferguson, Lynne Smiddy and Dani Butters for their dedication and hard work in negotiating your first contract with WSNA.

Convention 2017

Don't miss the upcoming Washington State Nurses Convention May 3-5! At Convention, we’ll be diving deep into one the top issues for registered nurses today: Creating a Culture of Safety. Register today for early bird pricing and hotel discounts (through March 30). Some local units are sponsoring attendance at Convention. Check with your local unit officers.

Welcome Case Managers!

We have a new group joining us! Please welcome the Case Managers at CWH. They recently elected to join WSNA. We have negotiated an LOU (Letter of Understanding) that recognizes them as represented by WSNA. Please welcome this dedicated group of nurses. Case Managers LOU

We recently had a settlement regarding use of PTO. This LOU allows a nurse not to use previously approved PTO if they end up working their normal FTE. PTO use LOU

In-services regarding the Vacation Request Process

Nancy Brouwers will be doing in-services regarding the Vacation Request Process. Please plan on attending one of the following in-services listed below:

December 7th at 4pm in Room H.
December 13th at 8am and 5:30pm in Room H.
December 14th at 10am and 5:30pm in Room H.
December 20th at 10:30am and 4pm in Room H.
Last chance December 30th at 8am and 4pm in Room H.

OR/PACU Survey

OR/PACU Survey

We need to hear from you. If you work in the OR or PACU, we need to hear from you before we can go forward to propose call opt out for nurses who are 62+ or have 18 years of service at CWH. Please complete the survey no later than November 14, 2016. This is a closed survey for OR/PACU RNs (not management) only.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org.

Your Contract is Now Online

Your Contract is Now Online

Nurse Practice Committee is working on the break issue. There will be a survey to complete in order to help them with the assessment of breaks and documentation of missed breaks. It is imperative that all RNs complete the survey. It is also important that all RNs document their missed breaks. If you feel retaliated against for documenting missed breaks, please let one of your officers or your WSNA Nurse Representative know. We all know more nurses work fatigued without addressing some of the contributing factors such as missed breaks. Your diligence in documenting the missed breaks and completing the survey is the first step in addressing and resolving the problem.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact your WSNA Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison,WSNA at cgarrison@wsna.org or (206) 491-9424 (cell).

We are planning a WSNA local unit meeting for September, location and date to be determined. Stay tuned!

In Solidarity!

Contract Vote

We have a contract. The vote results were overwhelmingly “YES”. The signed contract will be available online hopefully within a month. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Carmen Garrison, your WSNA Nurse Rep at cgarrison@wsna.org.

For those of you who came early to the vote, we discovered a typo in the summary. It has now been changed online. The only change to the original summary you received is in Article 11: Health Program changes EFFECTIVE 1-1-14. “Effective 1/1/18, the Hospital may not raise premiums more than $15.00 per month.” Not $10 as stated in the original summary you were provided.

Thank you to everyone who came out to vote. We had a great turn out.

Vote Summary

Here’s a summary of the changes in the new contract.

Plan on attending one of the voting sessions on March 23. Members of your negotiating team will be available to answer any questions you may have about the changes. You can also review a redline contract during the voting sessions.

Remember to thank your negotiating team for their hard work: Doug Landers, Susan Chapman, Lorna Sebastian, Judy McBride, Amanda Cortes, Elmo Ancar, Paul Molenaar, and Cheryl Keeler.

We have a TA (Tentative Agreement)!

We will be voting on the contract:

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Conference Room C (at the hospital)
7:30AM-10:00AM
2:00PM-4:30PM
6:30-8:00PM
The votes will be counted promptly at 8PM

A full summary of the vote will be available online prior to the vote.

We fought off changes in the 401K employer contributions (retirement), got wages up to 2-2-2 (6% for the life of the contract), fought off losses in shift differentials for senior nurses, improved vacation language, improved insurance language (with commitment to negotiate changes), and much more. We had great dialogue during negotiations regarding rest breaks with a verbal commitment to truly get break coverage through a Nurse Practice initiative.

Be sure to thank your negotiating team:
Doug Landers, Susan Chapman, Paul Molenaar, Cheryl Keeler, Judy McBride, Amanda Cortes, Elmo Ancar, and Lorna Sebastian

Wear WSNA blue and WSNA button in solidarity!

Negotiations Update

February 24, 2016: We completed our sixth session of negotiations with CFH (Confluence Health Administration).

We have exchanged economic counter proposals.
The employer’s last proposal contained take-aways including:

  • Converting shift differentials from a percentage base to a fixed dollar amount,
  • Moving current retirement to the CFH retirement option, and
  • Less than acceptable wage increases.

We are researching the CFH Health Insurance plan and negotiating details including more affordable premiums for spouse and family coverage.

We have two more sessions scheduled on March 2 and 3. Please contact your team members in your department or your Nurse Representative Carmen Garrison (Cgarrison@wsna.org) and let them know what you think.

We need you to stand by your negotiating team. It is important that you show support of your negotiating team members: Doug Landers, Susan Chapman, Paul Molenaar, Cheryl Keeler, Judy McBride, Amanda Cortes, Elmo Ancar, and Lorna Sebastian. Wear WSNA blue and WSNA button in solidarity!

Follow us on Facebook. Like our page Central WA RNs Care for Us and invite your friends and family to do the same.

Negotiations Update

We have agreed to work on a better vacation granting process. Both Administration and the Association have been working hard on a resolution regarding vacation and improvement of the current process.


We have agreed to improvement on the layoff/restructure language.

We have completed four days of negotiations. One and a half days (1½) consisted of presentations by administration regarding financials, health insurance, retirement, and seniority calculations.

Administration has presented their interest in changing retirement, health insurance and shift differentials. We continue to negotiate these issues and others including wages.

Our next two dates for negotiations are scheduled for February 23 and 24. It is important that you show support to your negotiating team: Doug Landers, Susan Chapman, Paul Molenaar, Cheryl Keeler, Judy McBride, Amanda Cortes, Elmo Ancar, and Lorna Sebastian. If you have any questions, you can ask your team members or contact Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org.

Negotiations Update

We have had two days of Interest Based Bargaining with CWHS administrators. The hospital provided two presentations on the first day:

  • Financial Presentation by Steve Jacobs,
  • State of Nursing at CWH by Tracy Kasnic.

Both presentations were positive.

We exchanged issues and interests and continued to bargain over wages, hours, and working conditions.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your nurse representative, Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org (you can also friend request me on Facebook – Carmen Garrison, BSN, RN).

Your negotiating team members are: Doug Landers, Susan Chapman, Paul Molenaar, Cheryl Keeler, Judy McBride, Amanda Cortes, Elmo Ancar, and Lorna Sebastian.

Please go to your local WSNA Facebook page to “Like” and “Share” with your family and friends: Central WA RNs Care for Us.

Newly Elected Officers

Congratulations to the newly elected officers. They will be serving you for the next 3 years and will be on the negotiating team.

Negotiations are set to start in January and a survey is available online for you to give us feedback.

Please show your support for:
Chair: J. Douglas Landers – gonefishin@genext.net
Co-Chair: Judy McBride – jdoran@nwi.net
Secretary: Lorna Sebastian – 509-662-4122 or lornas@nwi.net
Treasurer: Amanda Cortes – mandie_33@hotmail.com
Co-Grievance Officers:
Elmo Ancar – 504-931-4257 or elmoancar@hotmail.com
Susan Chapman – 509-421-5395 chapmantribe@yahoo.com
Membership Officers:
Cheryl Keeler – ckeeler_1@hotmail.com
Paul Molenaar – crashtest824@hotmail.com

2016 Negotiations Survey

The current contract between WSNA and your local unit expires March 31, 2016. This survey is our first step in our preparation for contract negotiations. Your input is critical to determining our priorities as we head to the bargaining table. It is vital that we know your issues and concerns prior to the start of the negotiations.

Take a moment to complete this survey now. The power of representation comes from the willingness of Registered Nurses to unite; our strength is in unity! Remember in order for WSNA to be an effective, strong, influential voice for you at the negotiation table, we need your membership and involvement.

Please complete this online survey by December 8, 2015.

Calling All RNs in Central Washington: Join us for Free Continuing Education!

Advocating for a Healthy Lifestyle: Stress Management for Nurses on the Go!
3 Free Contact Hours
Karen Bowman, LHT MN, RN, COHN-S
WSNA Occupational and Environmental Health Specialist

Wednesday, August 12, 2015 4-7 pm
St. Elizabeth’s Auditorium @ Yakima Regional Medical & Cardiac Center
110 S 9th Ave, Yakima, WA 98902

Right to Work
What does that mean in my job?
2 Free Contact Hours
John Boyle
Labor Educator - WA State Labor Education & Research Center

Tuesday, August 25, 2015 5-7 PM
Yakima Fire Department #95, 807 Nob Hill Blvd, Yakima WA, 98901

RSVP Today!
Light dinner will be provided.
Call WSNA at 1.800.231.8482 Ext 0
Or Email wsna@wsna.org

Please give your Name, Home Email Address and tell us which class you’d like to attend: Stress Management, Right to Work or Both!

Local Unit Meetings - July 6th

Plan to attend one of these Local Unit Meetings on July 6, 2015. We know you face issues at work on a daily basis and we want to hear from you! So please plan to meet with your officers and your WSNA Nurse Rep. We are rolling out elections, surveying our members about key issues, and planning for negotiations. For more information, it is really important that you plan to attend this meeting.

July 6, 2015
12 noon—2 PM
5:00 PM—7:00 PM
Conference Room B at CWH

If you have any questions, feel free to contact one of your officers or your Nurse Rep Carmen Garrison at cgarrison@wsna.org or 206-491-9424

Your current officers: Chair Julie Simmons, RN, Co-Chair Judy McBride, RN, Secretary Russell Boggs, RN, Treasurer Amanda Cortes, RN, Grievance Officers Cheryl Keeler, RN and Elmo Ancar, RN, Membership Officer Lorna Sebastian, RN