Our WSNA bargaining team completed our second day of contract negotiations with Sacred Heart. We made several proposals aimed at improving Article 9, including:

• Having voluntary low census first be offered to nurses on the volunteer low census list from the unit the low census need arises from, before going to volunteers from the clinical grouping;
• Delineating our pediatric and adult IV therapy teams in clinical groups to protect pediatric specialties;
• Reducing the length of time discipline stays in a nurse’s file;
• Providing equity for seniority for supplementals related to intra-unit transfers, so that supplemental nurses who have seniority in a particular unit can more easily obtain an FTE position in that unit;
• Updating staffing committee language to be compliant with the new law;
• Adding language to ensure that the Medical Center is staffed well enough in order to allow nurses to take their meal and rest breaks, to allow nurses to take their PTO, to allow nurses don’t have to carry unmanageable patient loads, and to avoid making charge nurses take on patient loads.
• NEW language regarding mandatory call-in departments to reflect the law, and to ensure that nurses who, because of working overtime or mandatory call, work more than twelve consecutive hours, have the option to get sufficient rest before coming back to work.
  • Did you know? Sacred Heart has received at least two L&I citations for use of pre-scheduled call for non-emergent procedures. Excessive use of call staff can lead to nurse burnout, and we want better for our nurses in mandatory call departments.

We also made proposals to enhance working conditions for our clinical documentation specialists including that they receive the same PTO, EIT, and leave options that our full bargaining unit receives.

Our team received counters from management on Article 8 and Article 19. Management denied our proposal for work on day off premium for part-time and supplemental nurses. From their perspective, part-time nurses and supplementals choose their FTE and time commitments and should only receive time and a half after working 40 hours.

Our union made a comprehensive proposal on workplace violence, you can read those details in our last update. Management responded to our language and while we appreciate some of the counters, there are many pieces they would not agree to.

Regarding the workplace violence prevention committee, there was transparent discussion about how our current systems are lacking consistency and can be improved.

We proposed that the Workplace Violence Committee be given the real data around workplace violence in our workplace: where it is happening, when it is happening, what was the response, and what happened. Our Workplace Violence Committee needs to know what is actually happening so that it can begin to improve things. Management did not agree to our proposal, instead offering to just tell the Committee the “trends” of workplace violence. We feel strongly that in order for nurses to be effective in this committee they need the full picture, just as we do in our staffing committee.

• We made many proposals to enhance the security at our workplace, which management rejected, including:Having a security officer stationed at each public entrance;
• Enhancing Article 19 to say management shall provide sufficient security officers to keep all patients and employees safe;
• Implementing a weapons detection system.

Management emphasized that these proposals would cost money expressed concerns about the efficacy of weapons detection systems.

We do not believe that cost should be a barrier to workplace safety. We do not believe that nurses should have to be security guards as well as caregivers. We will keep fighting for workplace safety solutions that keep our nurses safe.

Our union made significant proposals on a break nurse relief program. Unfortunately, management did not agree to implement break relief nurses. Instead, they proposed a letter of understanding to be added to the back of our contract that would essentially ask the staffing committee to look at the issue. While we agree that the staffing committee has an important role to play in break relief staffing and appreciate the engagement on the issue, we do not believe that this response from management is sufficient. Having break relief nurses to relieve nurses for their breaks, without having to burden a coworker with a double patient load, is essential to ensuring we can take our legally protected rest and meal breaks. We will continue fighting for this very important protection for our nurses.

What else did management propose?

• Removing the requirement for nurses to have every other weekend off, instead just saying that management will make a “good faith effort” to do so;
• Allowing the Medical Center to post new positions that do not have a normal scheduling pattern;
• Extending grievance responses from 7 to 14 days;
• Establishing quorums for all committees, so that if nurses or management don’t RSVP in advance for committees, meetings might be cancelled;
• Removing the entire innovative work schedule sub-article;NEW language for assigning mandatory call shifts by seniority in departments that utilize it when call shifts are unfilled

What happens next? 

We are scheduled to meet with management on December 3, December 16, December 22, and December 30.

How can I support a fair and winning contract?

1. Participate in bargaining- be an observer! WSNA nurses can sign up for a full day or a half day and watch how the contract is bargained! Blue shirts are provided if you don’t have one. Come watch how it’s done and support the bargaining team.
2. Become a unit steward- level up your union nurse knowledge. Attend a one-hour training at your preferred time. Nurses will learn about representation rights, how to advocate for unsafe staffing, helping colleagues find and understand their contract, how to know when the contract is being violated and so much more. Sign up today!
3. Participate in Tuesday Bluesday- we’ve heard Sacred Heart is attempting to enforce their dress code. We also know they aren’t doing equitably across the hospital. Nurses can still wear blue colored scrubs or scrub caps to show their support.
4. Report unsafe staffing- when you are asked to participate in the break buddy system, file a staffing analysis form. A break buddy is when nurses agree to watch each other’s patients and double their assignments. This is never safe, and nurses need to be reporting this when it happens. Every time. These reports can help us advocate for break relief nurses.
5. Read updates from our union! We are aware Providence is operating their own blog with their updates and their proposed language. We encourage nurses to get their information for our union who legally represent our interests related to wages, hours, and working conditions. Please remember the documents management is sharing only reflect what they are asking of our union. It does not represent any conversation had about it nor does it demonstrated any agreement made on that proposed language.

A HUGE thank you our WSNA nurses who came to observe negotiations and support our bargaining team through this work!

Questions? Contact a member of our bargaining team, a local unit officer, or your WSNA Nurse Rep Alle Machorro at amachorro@wsna.org