The Urgent Care Medical Assistants recently unionized with UFCW 21, the union who represents the technical unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH), and are currently in contract negotiations. This group consists of only 14 MAs, given their small size they are fighting to be accreted to the current technical contract.

SCH is refusing to add the UC MAs to the current contract and they are pressuring the MAs into a first contract bargain. In the past, SCH has added other newly organized groups to the current contract, but they do not want to add the UC MAs to the current contract because this will encourage the rest of the MAs to unionize. This, of course, would be a good thing for the workers, but the hospital does not see it that way.

The UC MAs are asking for our support by wearing a sticker on December 10 and 11. This will show SCH that this unit is supported by the techs and the nurses and they cannot be bullied into a weak first contract. WSNA officers will be passing out stickers. If you would like to help hand out stickers to your SCH colleagues, please contact the UC MA bargaining team members, Laura Hollenbeck (per diem) laurakhollenbeck@gmail.com, Melissa Shultz (Everett) missmelissa923@gmail.com, Angelica Acevedo (Seattle) ad.acearre@gmail.com, or Wendy Rivas (South) rivaswm29@yahoo.com.

Wearing a sticker in support of our colleagues is protected by law. However, if your manager instructs you to remove your sticker, do so and then alert our WSNA Nurse Representative, Sydne James, sjames@wsan.org, as this might be an Unfair Labor Practice, which is unlawful.

Your local unit officers: Edna Cortez, Lindsey Kirsch, Diane Gates, Samantha Forte, Maria Sixto, Doris Taylor and Kara Yates