Plan on showing up and casting your vote!
Where and when?
UWMC
April 11: 6-9 a.m. and 6- 9 p.m. Plaza Café rooms A&B (SW130)
We will also be at Roosevelt Clinic North street level lobby from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Northwest Hospital
April 16: 6-9 a.m., 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. and 6-9 p.m.
All voting sessions to be held in the Heart Center Conference Room
Overview: As you know, the UWMC and NWH are integrating on January 1, 2020. Both the NWH and UWMC Agreements are up for renegotiation this year. Rather than face multiple, splintered negotiations, your combined UWMC/NWH Integration Bargaining Team has negotiated hard with both UWMC and NWH Management (“Administration”) for a total of 12 sessions, and reached a Tentative Agreement which:
- Provides Job Stability: Under the Agreement both the UWMC and NWH nurses will remain under separate collective bargaining agreements and in separate bargaining units for two years. Administration has waived the right to force a combined NWH/UWMC unit in which nurses could be forced to move job locations, float between campuses and face major changes in pay and working conditions.
- Provides Contract Stability: Both the NWH and UWMC Agreements are due for renegotiation this summer. Because NWH employees will become public employees in just over six months, absent this Transition Agreement your WSNA Teams at NWH will be compelled to negotiate both Agreements this summer and face a second set of negotiations for each agreement or a combined agreement right after integration next January. Multiple negotiations would create enormous uncertainty, and opportunities for the Administration to try to negotiate away your unique benefits.
- The Transition Agreement TA: The Tentative Agreement will provide for extending the existing NWH and UWMC Agreements with (1) across the board wage increases, (2) contract provisions to integrate NWH nurses into public employee status, (3) provisions to mitigate negative impacts arising from integration, (4) inclusion of most Per Diem nurses at UWMC and all Reserve nurses at NWH and (5) other improvements for both Agreements.
- Fighting Off Takeaways: Your team fought off big takeaways including a massive loss of vacation value for NW RNs, a raise proposal of just 1% and an extended work day without additional pay for clinic RNs.
NWH/ UWMC HIGHLIGHT SUMMARY:
Changes to both agreements:
- UPASS: Free for all NWH and UWMC nurses July 1, 2019 (ORCA Passes for NWH until January).
- Guaranteed Wage Increases: Two Percent (2%) Year One, Two Percent (2%) Year Two. NW Hospital RNs will begin receiving these raises on May 15 and UWMC RNs will begin receiving these on July 1, 2019.
- Longevity Bonus: Longevity bonus of $800 for FTE’d RNs working .7 and above and $400 for FTE’d RNs working a .6 and below in November of 2020. RN must be working at UWMC at time of ratification and still be employed as of date of bonus payout.
- Job Protection for Reserve & Per Diem Nurses: “Just Cause” for Reserve & Per Diem RNs currently employed at UWMC and NW Hospitals. At the end of this year, Reserve and covered UWMC Per Diem nurses (who work over 350 hours per year) will fall under the protection of “Just Cause,” and may not be fired for performance reasons without a right to correct poor performance and arbitrate unfair terminations. This is a major change!
Additional Impacts On The UWMC Agreement
- Preservation of UWMC Unique Life Balance Benefits: These include self-scheduling, no-low census and limited call units. All of these benefits have been under attack during the last few rounds of negotiations.
- Accelerated Annual Leave: Nurses between Steps 4 and 13 will receive increased annual leave days.
- Per Diem Inclusion: Per Diem nurses (who work 350 hours or more per year) shall now be under the UWMC Agreement and in addition to new just cause protection, shall enjoy other significant contract benefits including guaranteed daily overtime, shift differentials, premiums, participation on key committees and access to the grievance procedure.
- Per Diem Pay Step Upgrades: Many UWMC Per Diem nurses are not being paid at the highest step they are entitled to. If ratified, UWMC Per Diems will have their hours audited within 90 days of ratification and receive any step increases they are entitled to. Per Diem nurses will continue to receive step increases going forward for every 1872 hours worked.
Additional Impacts on NWH Agreement (Effective January 2020):
- Imposed for NWH Nurses to Become Public Employees:
A. Retirement Plan PERS: All nurses shall participate in the State’s pension plan, known as PERS. Nurses will have a choice between PERS II and PERS III plans. Both Plans have vesting periods and different advantages. PERS II includes an increasingly rare defined benefit plan which provides guaranteed income throughout retirement. Full details can be found at www.drs.wa.gov/member/systems/... 60 and over: Your team convinced management to allow nurses age 60 or older (who may not have time to vest before retirement) with 15 years of service who have been contributing to the NWH Plan to receive a lump sum equal to two years contributions under the NWH Plan at the end of this year.
B. Medical Plan: All FTE NWH nurses will be enrolled in the State’s PEBB Medical Plan which provides high-quality medical benefits. Premiums are slightly higher for single employees but much lower for families. A premium in lieu of benefits will no longer be available.
Reserve nurses will be enrolled if their manager fills out a form attesting to an expectation that the NWH nurse will work 480 hours over the first six months of 2020 and work 8 hours a month thereafter.
C. Reserve Nurses: All Reserve nurses working at NWH are being grandfathered into the NWH bargaining unit and may be benefit eligible. However, Reserve Nurses will receive only a six percent (6%) premium due to that eligibility.
D. Sick Leave: NWH nurses' sick leave banks will be transferred to UWMC into a carryover bank and preserved for continued use.
E. Holidays & Annual Leave: NWH nurses shall be subject to UWMC annual leave and all State Holidays, plus a personal holiday. Total leave is roughly equivalent, but the terms of the UWMC Holiday provision are superior. NWH annual leave banks will be transferred to the UWMC and covered by the UWMC provisions. The UWMC existing annual leave accrual limit is set at 240 hours. NWH with balances higher than 240, shall be given the option to (1) cash out excess vacation at the end of 2019 at 75%, and/or (2) retain and use some or all excess hours before June 1, 2021.
We, your WSNA negotiation team, recommend a “YES” vote
Please be on the lookout for a complete summary of changes that will be posted on wsna.org about a week prior to the vote.
For questions, contact the following nurse representatives:
UWMC – Ed Zercher at ezercher@wsna.org
NW Hospital – Terri Williams at twilliams@wsna.org
In Solidarity!
Your WSNA Negotiation Team:
Anita Stull, RN - UWMC; Tiffany Guyette, RN - NW Hospital; Harry James, RN - UWMC; John Brown, RN - NW Hospital; Teresa Wren, RN - UWMC; Tom Booze, RN - NW Hospital; Ed Zercher, BSN, RN - WSNA Nurse Rep; Terri Williams, MS, RN - WSNA Nurse Rep; and Dave Campbell - WSNA Special Counsel
