Join WSNA Nurse Representative Janet Stewart and Membership Officer Nikki Paulson in the Evergreen Cafeteria from 5 - 8 p.m. 

Drop in when you can.  Bring your concerns and questions; or just come by to say hello and pick up a treat and WSNA Swag. 

Note: It has always been the practice for our WSNA Nurse Representative and Organizer to visit the facility and round on the units to meet staff, and to update the union boards in the lounges.  But Evergreen hospital leadership has declined to allow our new Rep to round in the facility and meet all of you without their direct supervision.  This inhibits her ability to meet with you in your workplace and hear your concerns about your working conditions and other issues. While contractually Evergreen has the right to do this, we are extremely disappointed that they have chosen to restrict our representative access to our units. Efforts to limit opportunities for members to connect with their union representative do not weaken our resolve, it will only strengthen it. 

At this time, she is only allowed to meet with you in public areas of the hospital. You may see her briefly on the units on Monday while on her escorted tour by hospital leadership. We hope you will be able to drop by Monday July 20 between 5-8 pm in the Cafeteria. 

Important Information about Breaks 

We have heard reports that nurses are not getting their rest and/or meal breaks, and there are concerns that these are not being reported because of fear of retaliation for reporting missed breaks. 

We wanted to reach out and discuss the importance of both taking breaks and accurately reporting breaks. 

Your employer is obligated to provide breaks for all nurses. These breaks are meant to clear your mind, allow you to relax, and return to work feeling refreshed. They are there for your safety and the safety of patients. It's a common misconception that the way to provide the best care is to push through, but evidence shows that it has the opposite effect. 

Accurately reporting breaks also helps determine what staffing looks like on your unit. If you and your coworkers are too busy for breaks, we need a documented history of this so we can challenge your current assignments. It may be that your caseload is too high, or there are not enough staff to distribute the work appropriately. We need to know this. 

Also, your pay may not be correct if you are missing meal breaks due to workload. Missed meal breaks are paid time, and that is income that you should be getting if you are working instead of breaking. We want to encourage you to accurately clock your meal and rest breaks every day. 

Evergreen is not allowed to retaliate or discipline you for accurately reporting missed breaks. If you feel like this is happening, please reach out to your nurse rep or your unit reps to discuss. We're here to answer your questions. 

Hospital Staffing Committee Meeting - ADOs (Assignment Despite Objection)

Your WSNA union leaders meet monthly with Evergreen Healthcare and EHCS leadership to discuss staffing plans and staffing issues. The ADOs (Assignment Despite Objection Forms) which you submit are discussed. The team determines if the ADO is resolved or unresolved.  If unresolved, a plan is put into place to try to resolve the issues.  You may attend the staffing committee meeting to address your ADO if you would like, but it's not required. 

If staffing concerns are not reported, then we do not know the problems and therefore cannot work to resolve them. Please take just a few moments to fill out the ADO form online.

Fill out the section which asks how many RNs and CNAs/Techs are expected and how many are actually working, so we know if the staffing plan is being followed or not. 

Let us know also when you are missing your meal and rest breaks on the ADO form. If break nurses are being pulled to take a patient assignment, we need to hear about it. When you have to double your assignment because you have to cover your nurse co-worker for a break, your unit is out of staffing compliance and you need to report this on the ADO. 

Here is the link and QR Code for the ADO forms:  Staffing Complaint / ADO Form - WSNA

Become a union member : Together we are Stronger

Membership application - WSNA

Questions/Concerns, please reach out to: 

Your WSNA Nurse Representative Janet Stewart -  JStewart@wsna.org  

Your WSNA Local Unit Officers:  Theresa Blazer, Lexi Overa, Sandy Gott, Holly Baker, Nikki Paulson and Jenilee Sears   

Your EHCS WSNA Unit Reps:  Emily Barnes, Billie Jo Brandon, Stephani Bernard, Daphne Giles

Your Contract, Updates and Union Leadership information can be found here:  EvergreenHealth - WSNA

Ask a WSNA co-worker to invite you to our private Facebook group.