Staffing Ratios, Wages, and Nurse Safety

Your WSNA bargaining team met with management to continue negotiations for a new contract. During this session, the team presented proposals focused on staffing, workplace safety, and fair compensation.

Addressing Racial Discrimination as a Safety Issue

Your bargaining team introduced language that would recognize racial discrimination as a workplace safety issue and allow concerns to be addressed through the Safety Committee. Nurses have reported feeling unsafe raising concerns through the current process, and there have been multiple grievances related to disciplinary actions tied to allegations of racial discrimination.

This proposal would create a clearer pathway for nurses to bring forward concerns while protecting confidentiality and ensuring the issues are investigated through a joint process.

Management stated they previously hired an outside investigator but did not agree to expanding the Safety Committee’s role as it pertains to discrimination at this time. We believe this protection to be a valuable and important issue for our nurses and will continue to fight for this benefit as we move forward.

Staffing Protections

WSNA also presented a proposal aimed at establishing clearer staffing standards based on patient acuity. Nurses shared concerns that current staffing levels are contributing to increased workload, burnout, and patient safety risks.

Your team emphasized that the proposal reflects ratios and protections already recognized in other MultiCare facilities and is designed to improve nurse retention and patient safety.

Management did not provide a response to the staffing proposal during this session.

Economic Proposal

Your bargaining team also presented an economic package that includes:

• $4/hour plus 10% wage increase upon ratification
• 5% wage increases in years two and three of the contract
• Increased shift differentials
• Higher charge nurse and preceptor premiums
• Expanded float pay
• Improvements to rest between shifts
• Increased PTO and sick leave
• Improvements to education funding and incentive pay
  

Kickoff Event TOMORROW!

Start Negotiations off Strong!

Join your WSNA team on Friday, March 6 for a bargaining open house! We'll have all the information you need to stay up to date with this round of negotiations, as well as WSNA shirts and scrub caps.

We'll be set up from 7-9 am, 12-3 pm, and 6-9 pm outside the Starbucks lobby. Come by and grab some free food, your WSNA swag, and write a message of solidarity for our bargaining team!

You're Invited! Want to Observe Bargaining?

Observers are a crucial part of keeping our negotiations transparent and holding management accountable. We invite all nurses at Good Sam to see for themselves what the process looks like! Showing up to observe is a powerful way to show MultiCare that we're invested in our workplace, our contract, and our union.

If you're interested in observing at MultiCare University on 3/13, reach out to WSNA Organizer Grace at glamonte@wsna.org org or 206-553-9794. Negotiations are open for observers starting at 10am.

Blue Fridays are Back!

Make sure to wear your WSNA blue every Friday and bargaining day. We'll have extra pins, stickers, and new scrub caps at our kickoff event on Friday. If you have pictures of your unit on Blue Fridays, send them to one of the officers or share it on our Good Sam social media.

Shoutout to our awesome STAT nurses showing their WSNA pride! 💙💪

Stay in the Loop!

As our contract negotiations approach, it’s crucial that every nurse stays informed on what’s happening at the bargaining table and beyond. If you’re not getting email updates from WSNA, check your junk and spam folders. Please make sure to stay subscribed to WSNA for important Local Unit Updates - unsubscribing to just one WSNA email unsubscribes you from all future updates.

You can update your contact information here. Make sure you follow our Instagram, @gsh_wsna, or ask a coworker to add you to our private Facebook group.