We met with management on Tuesday, March 12 and during this session, we made compromises in a number of areas in hopes that it gets us closer to an agreement. We held firm on the issues that are most important to us and explained to the hospital that we need to see movement from them on these issues.

• We are continuing to fight for a step pay system. What does this mean? It means that on your anniversary, you would move up a step on the wage scale. Kindred is an outlier in that it does not offer this as other hospitals do. You deserve to be paid according to your longevity and it is an important tool in recruitment and retention of great nursing professionals.
• We have proposed a cost-of-living increase at the beginning of each year of the contract.
• We are continuing to propose language on staffing and safety. We have dropped our staffing ratio proposal but are still seeking general staffing and safety language.
• We are continuing to propose language that guarantees the hospital will honor incentives that have been offered. For instance, if you are asked to work an extra shift and are told you will be paid $30/hr for that shift, the hospital can’t turn around after the fact and only pay you $20. They must honor what they promised to pay you.
• We are also continuing to seek certification and BSN/MSN pay as well as seeking modest increases to shift differentials.

Your bargaining team – Sonsherryer Holland, Josh Derius, Jose Ochoa, Kanna Teferi, Multile Musee

Questions, concerns or comments? Please contact your nurse rep, Sara Frey sfrey@wsna.org.