Our WSNA nurses bargained with management for day 11 and day 12 on Friday February 20, 2026, and Tuesday February 24, 2026.

From Day 11

Management rejected many of our proposals in Article 9 that would have included maintenance of benefits for nurses impacted by a layoff on a reduced FTE, extending the time nurses could be on the reinstatement roster, and who could qualify to be on the reinstatement roster including nurses on a reduced FTE. Management also rejected language our union proposed to capture our understanding that the layoff language does not permit the Employer to freely change departments lengths of shifts. The language of Article 9 has already prevented this in the recent IV therapy layoff. Management appears to want to be able to freely change nurses’ shift lengths to their benefit.

Regarding progressive discipline: management rejected our proposal (again) to reduce the time discipline is in the nurse’s file from 2 years to 18 months. Other Spokane contracts, including Holy Family, remove discipline after 18 months, we think 2 years is excessive.

Management rejected the following proposals (again):

• Needing at least one nurse to vote yes to change the Hospital Staffing Plan (so the Staffing Plan cannot be changed if all nurses on the staffing committee are against the plan).
• Recognizing Christmas Eve as a holiday
• Increasing PTO accruals
• Allowing immediate access to EIT

Good progress from Day 11

• Management finally agreed to allow procedural nurses to use unpaid time for holidays when their department is closed, instead of having to burn their PTO.
• Management agreed to increase the amount of educational hours for all nurses by 2 hours
• Last but definitely not least—management FINALLY agreed to add a BSN premium! We have been pushing for this hard and we are happy they finally engaged with us. However, management is currently refusing to allow nurses to stack their BSN and certification premiums, so nurses would only receive one or the other. And they are only proposing that it go into effect in 2027. We are happy to see this movement but are continuing to push to have the BSM premium be stackable, and have it go into effect right away. Nurses at Providence St. Luke’s and Pullman Regional Hospital are permitted to stack premiums and we don’t understand why the Employer continues to reject when the market and the system support this practice.

A HUGE thank you to 3S, our WSNA nurse observers, and to Highway Grind for supporting our bargaining team as they continue to fight for a fair contract! Continue reading below for Day 12 updates! 

 Day 12 Updates

Our union sent proposals to management for Articles 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, Appendix A (supplementals), and Appendix B (CDI). We continue to work on Article 9 and have successfully achieved a tentative agreement on Articles 4 and 12!

Economics

On wages: We proposed a step scale that eliminates all ghost steps, so nurses make their money faster, accruing more in the crucial years when they are planning for retirement and other important financial purchases. We proposed an 11% increase in year 1, a 5.25% increase in year 2, and a 5.25% increase in year 3. We also came closer to the Hospital on how we are structuring our wage scale, so that our most experienced nurses, who do not see step increases, are still

On premiums: After getting nowhere on trying to get a longevity night shift differential, we pivoted to just asking for more money for all night shift work—we are proposing a night shift differential of $5.75.

For standby, we fought for months to get a mandatory standby rate that was higher than the regular standby rate—with no result. So we pivoted and adopted management’s idea for an annual bonus for excessive standby hours worked. We are bargaining over the amount of standby hours that would qualify for the bonus.

Certification and education premiums continue to be a high priority for our team. We continue to propose a $1 BSN premium that can be stacked along with the $1.25 certification premium. We feel strongly that our nurses should be recognized for their skills and education and should be permitted to stack premiums for these. We all know patients receive better care from an upskilled, educated nursing workforce and we don’t understand why the Employer doesn’t share the same sentiment.

PTO/EIT- We continue to advocate for our nurses to have more access to their time off banks and have highlighted MANY ways in which it gets encroached on. We proposed to reduce the PTO penalty to access EIT by 50% and rejected management’s proposal to eliminate nurse’s ability to cash out or transfer PTO to EIT. Our union continues to propose in Article 10.6 that nurses working in closed departments or departments with significantly reduced hours of work be able to treat those days as a voluntary low census. While management has said that those nurses choose to work in these departments and they should expect closures, we don’t think this choice of workplace should place nurses at a disadvantage with regards to their PTO.

Article 8

Break Relief! We continue to engage in substantive discussions about a break relief nurse program for our contract which is INCREDIBLE! Our team proposed that up to 4 units be considered for use of break relief nurses and that the Hospital Staffing Committees and UBCs work together to implement these programs.

Our team worked hard to identify language that could open a pathway for patterns without weekends to exist after the Employer makes every effort to balance the weekend needs and work of the unit. Management has consistently proposed the ability to create patterns with no weekend requirements, and we have concerns that they have not tried all alternative solutions. Fair and equitable weekend work is a core tenant of our contract, and we evaluate this proposal very carefully.

Both parties continue to engage in self-scheduling language and are very close except for language regarding the cap. Our union proposed that the Employer may cap nurses signing up but that it would be core numbers plus and additional 75%.

Our union withdrew a hard-fought proposal for part time nurses to receive time and a half if they pick up a short notice shift within 24 hours. We feel strongly that any nurse helping fill a need for the Employer on such short notice should receive that pay. We don’t agree with their position that this pay would incentivize nurses to drop their FTE or that there would be a valid reason that nurses don’t deserve this. But, because management has continued to reject this proposal, we decided to prioritize getting more money into our across the board wages.

Supplemental and CDI Appendices

Our union proposed on a go forward basis only that supplemental nurses’ schedules be adjusted to a 6-week schedule as opposed to a month. We communicated that due to our pending arbitrations we are not comfortable modifying any language further.

The Employer has consistently refused to shift our CDI nurses to our contracted PTO, EIT, and leaves of absence programs. While we firmly believe this is unfair, we continue to try to find enhancements for these nurses. Our recent proposal includes adding them to our contract fully for PTO and leaves of absence programs and are hopeful they will recognize the value of what we are proposing.

Management’s Article 19

Our union continues to remain disappointed with the distance between our proposals regarding workplace violence and safety. We refined our request that the Employer implement with a grace period, a weapons detection system in the emergency department. We also asked that they assign security officers to multiple areas of our hospital that we have told management are areas of significant concern to us.

Management’s response was ultimately that security and those resources are the decision of the Medical Center and don’t belong in our union contract. We disagree.

We know Sacred Heart petitioned FEMA in 2022 for grant funds to support security enhancements. Much of the language they submitted in that proposal validates what we are saying across the table and we feel supports our ask. Nurses and clinical staff are often the frontline exposure for workplace violence including our first nurses in our emergency department. Our team continues to advocate fiercely for our Employer to do better by our nurses to promote our safety.

Have You Signed Your Love Letter?

We continue to ask ALL our nurses to fill out their love letter! Our bargaining team is rounding every day in the hospital and can connect with you in your break room. We have buttons, T-shirts, scrub caps, and love letters. Email an officer or our WSNA Nurse Representative amachorro@wsna.org if you have NOT seen these on your unit yet!

What Can I Do To Help?

Be an observer- sign up today to observe our contract negotiations. Half day and full day sign up available. Next sessions include March 3, March 17, 18, and 27. This is our bargaining team’s most pressing ask- we are over 2,000 strong at Sacred Heart and we want our bargaining room to be filled with HUNDREDS of nurse observers. We do not have a limit on who can attend.

Read below from Nora Skipper, an 8^th floor nurse who has observed multiple sessions with our team!

How else can I help?

1. Attend our after bargaining union meeting- our next meetings will be IN PERSON only in the Mother Joseph Room on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 1800 and 1930. Pizza and snacks provided!

2. Become a Steward- Are you comfortable with your contract? Are you someone with whom your colleagues ask questions to about our union or contract? Step up your game and help us strengthen our Union at Sacred Heart. One hour training provided on an individual basis- sign up today.

3. Provide a meal- we have had nursing units turn out to provide breakfast or lunch for our bargaining team. It’s a kind gesture and a way to say thank you to our team.

Questions? Contact a member of our bargaining team, a local union officer here, or email our WSNA Nurse Rep Alle Machorro amachorro@wsna.org