Your bargaining team received a proposal from the hospital to increase wages while we continue our negotiations for a first contract. In order to make sure that nurses at the hospital receive raises immediately, we have agreed to the employer’s proposal. Under the proposal, regular status nurses (nurses with an FTE) will receive wage increases based on your performance evaluation based on the following formula:

1. Regular full-time and regular part-time nurses hired 90 days or more before June 2, 2019 will receive raises to their wage rates as follows:
   • Nurses who received a performance evaluation rating of 3 – 1.8%
   • Nurses who received a performance evaluation rating of 4 – 2.2%
   • Nurses who received a performance evaluation rating of 5 – 2.5%

1. The above described raises will be applied retroactively to June 2, 2019. The retroactive payment will be prorated based on the number of months the nurse worked within the previous 12 months. For example, if a nurse has worked 6 full months at the time of the increase and received a “5” rating, said nurse will receive a 1.25% increase effective June 2, 2019. Likewise, if the same nurse with 6 full months received a “4” rating, she would receive a 1.1% increase effective June 2, 2019.

Please note, your bargaining team does not agree that pay increases based on performance evaluations is a fair or ethical method of determining compensation. You have called for a step system and we will continue to fight for a step system. In agreeing to the employer’s proposal, your bargaining team made it very clear that we did so on a non-precedent setting basis with the reserved right to make a full economic proposal in our ongoing negotiations. We will present that proposal in the weeks ahead.

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Hanna Welander at 206-575-7979, ext. 3035 or hwelander@wsna.org.