From our union to you we want to say Merry Christmas to you and your families. We know our nurses may be celebrating at home or at work and just want to thank you for all that you do.

As we move through this season, we want to share with our Holy Family nurses where some of our union brothers and sisters are at in their contract campaigns. As you may know, 2026 starts our building year as we look to our contract expiring in March 2027. Take a moment and read fellow nurses’ stories and see if you can support any of these WSNA bargaining units in their fight for a fair contract.

Providence Kadlec (Kennewick, WA)

Nurses just finished bargaining session #14. During these sessions, a federal mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) joined the parties to help facilitate more productive communication between the Union and management. Over the two days, we engaged in focused, substantive discussions on two of our top priority proposals: Break Relief RNs and Safety.

Proposals were advanced for both break relief and weapons detection systems as pilot programs. Unfortunately, meaningful bargaining on wages has been virtually nonexistent. Management has repeatedly cited changing cost figures to reject fair grade progression, then turned around and used those same costs to justify limiting overall wage increases. This contradictory approach has stalled progress and fails to address the real financial pressures nurses are facing.

Potential action: If the bargaining team does not reach a tentative agreement with the Employer, they are holding January 26 from 8am-10am for an informational picket. Stay tuned for updates!

Seattle Children's (Seattle, WA)

After 32 bargaining sessions, and a few that could have been an email, our nurses are holding a strike authorization vote across December 21 and 22. Our priority issues remain;

• Nurse and Patient Safety: With depleted sick leave banks, Seattle Children’s nurses are fighting for enough sick time that they can stay home to heal when they are victims of workplace violence and to protect their fragile patients from contagious illness.
• Industry Leader with Sub-Market Pay: SCH is among the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the country. Yet, they pay their nurses 10-40% less than other West Coast Pediatric Hospitals.
• Rest and Meal Breaks: Nurses are fighting to preserve and protect nurses’ ability to take work-free rest and meal breaks. Missed breaks are commonplace, and nurse and patient safety demand that nurses get uninterrupted time to rest, hydrate, and eat.
• Unfair Labor Practices: WSNA has filed several unfair labor practice charges against Seattle Children’s for threatening retaliation against union supporters, refusing to allow nurses with children to observe bargaining, and unilaterally changing working conditions. These actions are potential violations of federal labor law and disrespect Seattle Children’s nurses as they work to reach a fair agreement that honors the exceptional care Seattle Children’s nurses bring to their patients and the community.

Next bargaining dates: Mediation for 12/22 and 12/23

Tacoma General Hospital (Tacoma, WA)

We reached several non-economic tentative agreements but many key issues remain unresolved. We will not accept the loss of contractual ratios. We will not accept staffing language that weakens our protections in the Hospital Staffing Committee. We continue to fight for:

• Adequate spaces for lactating mothers
• Fair low census language that does not leave nurses waiting all day to find out if they are needed
• Charge nurses being Union Nurses every shift every time
• A Racial Justice Committee that supports our nurses and our community in a way that Belonging has failed to do for two contracts

Both sides passed multiple wage proposals yesterday. Management continues to come in below St. Joseph’s Tacoma which is the only real comparator for our market.

Next bargaining dates : 1/8, 1/16

MaryBridge NICU (Tacoma, WA)

Our bargaining team met with management for session six of contract negotiations on 12/19/25. This was the final bargaining session currently scheduled before our contract expires on 12/31. We entered the day hopeful that management would finally close the gap on the issues that matter most to NICU nurses. Instead, management made it clear they are unwilling to move on core priorities, including removing CANMs from the charge role, reinserting ratios into our contract, and securing meaningful protections for NICU staffing plans through the Hospital Staffing Committee.

This session made clear just how far apart we remain on our highest-priority issues. While we have made progress on some minor items, management has refused to move meaningfully on the following:

• Ratios
• Staffing Committee safeguards
• The use of CANMs to replace union charge nurses
• Per diem work requirements
• Wages

Good news- our bargaining unit has expanded! Our Case Managers voted unanimously to enter our bargaining unit and stand with us in the fight for safe working conditions and fair wages. We are excited to welcome 11 new members to the Union.

Next bargaining dates: 1/7

Sacred Heart Medical Center (Spokane, WA)

We have completed 4 days of bargaining with the Employer and return for session five on Monday December 22. We have proposed many items including

• Increasing PTO accruals and maximums- our team identified that our rates have been the same at least since 1998!
• Removing penalty language from EIT that requires nurses to use PTO before accessing EIT
• Increasing paid education leave
• Proposing the Employer provide health insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield that was previously provided and language to not make any plan changes without bargaining with our Union
• Expanding bereavement leave to include how WA State defines qualifying family members
• Incentive premiums for mandatory call departments who have unfilled call shifts and same day sick calls for call shifts

We have not received any responses to economic items or items concerning healthcare, PTO, or EIT from the Employer.

Next bargaining dates: 12/22 and 12/30

We are reminded that the season is about generosity, commitment, and standing together in solidarity. We are one of 51 bargaining units, and we are 22,000 nurses strong at WSNA. Through collective bargaining we have the ability to change and improve our working conditions across the state of Washington. Reach out to your WSNA Nurse Representative Alle Machorro at amachorro@wsna.org to find out how you can support any of these campaigns and others happening in our union.