On April 14, 2022, our contract negotiation team met with hospital administration for our first negotiation session. We began bargaining on an optimistic note as Management thanked the nurses for our collaboration and hard work over the last two years. We noted that Children’s has many qualities that make it a rewarding place to work, and that we will be presenting proposals that are aimed at attracting nurses to SCH and keeping nurses there. We acknowledged that both the Union and the Hospital have a mutual goal in reducing the number of travelers and increasing the number of nurses who are invested in making Children’s the best place to work.

Right off the bat, Management changed its past position, and proposed Juneteenth as a holiday paid at time and one-half beginning in 2022, even if we don’t have a full contract by then (we will be negotiating how this will be incorporated into Annual Leave).

We made many of our non-economic proposals, including Art. 4.10 – Length of Service (we’re proposing that everyone receive a step increase on their anniversary regardless of how many hours they work); Art. 5.6 – Floating (we proposed limiting floating largely to within clinical groups, and establishing limitations and rules for when Ambulatory/Urgent Care nurses are floated between facilities); and Art. 5.5 – Parking (establishing preferred parking for senior nurses and demanding to bargain over changes in parking fees), among other proposals. We will continue developing our economic proposals to be presented at future sessions. We also initiated a conversation on Workplace Violence and how to protect nurses in verbally abusive or threatening situations.

We tentatively agreed to several smaller provisions including: adding PATCH to the lay-off language, adding anti-racism and health equity language into the beginning of the contract, and updating language on nursing orientation.

Our next bargaining session is April 28.

WSNA is requesting that EVERY NURSE wear a “I Support My Bargaining Team" sticker on April 27 and April 28. Please contact a local unit officer or a Contract Action Team member for a sticker.

Contact membership@wsna.org if you are not getting postcards and emails from WSNA. Please remember to check your junk mail.

In Solidarity, your negotiating team: Co-Chair Edna Cortez, PACU; Co-Chair Kara Yates, Medical Unit; Grievance Officer Diane Gates, PICU; Secretary/Treasurer Lindsey Kirsch, Urgent Care; Grievance Officer Erin Doyle, PATCH; Grievance Officer Samantha Lake, Operating Room; Katie Podobnik, Acute Care Float Pool; Sarah Munro, Bellevue Surgery Center; Shaina Lawson, NICU; Stefanie Chandos, ED; Annika Hoogesteraat, CVICU

Please contact Travis Elmore, WSNA Nurse Rep, at telmore@WSNA.org or 206-575-7979 ext. 3117 with questions or to find out what you can do to get a fair contract.