We bargained over 20 hours with Seattle Children’s with the assistance of a federal mediator.  We are excited to announce that we have reached an overall TA on a contract that will be in effect through February 28, 2029. Harnessing the incredible power of the bargaining unit, and with the looming threat of an open-ended strike, the Hospital made substantial movement toward our top priorities. We did not achieve all the goals that we set out to achieve, but we fought fiercely until the bitter end and feel confident we achieved the best possible deal.

Throughout over 35 bargaining sessions, we aimed to obtain a wage scale that accomplishes several goals simultaneously:

1. makes good progress toward tightening the gap between Seattle Children’s wages and at least the two closest pediatric hospitals,
2. raises wages that will recruit and retain excellent nurses, and
3. achieves equitable compensation that recognizes the quality care we all bring to our patients.

TA Highlights

• 96% of nurses will see $9.75 or higher over the life of the contract
• 79% of nurses will see 15% wage increases or higher over the life of the contract
• A condensed wage scale to 31 steps, eliminating ALL ghost steps
• Full retro payment back to September 1, 2025, to be paid in wages, inclusive of step increases since September 1, and overtime and double time
• Sick leave accrual rate increased to .05 per hour; and one-time 12 hour deposit of sick leave into sick leave banks for all RNs with a total FTE of .6 or above (8 hours for RNs with a total FTE of under .6)
• $7 experienced night shift differential for nurses at Step 5 or higher
• Parity for Eastern Washington Nurses
• Protective meal/rest break language and schedule protections
• Four new protected leaves (on-the-job injury, workplace violence, post-shift fatigue, and death of a patient leave)
• Flexibility in paid leave use to extend health insurance coverage during birth of a child, health, and welcoming leave
• MOU for Case Managers to come under the contract and bargain terms unique to them
• Preserved union security and dues deductions
• No mandatory arbitration or class action waiver for rest/meal break violations

These are just some highlights. We had many more TAs and fought off a number of harmful takeaways.

This was a righteous fight. While we acknowledge that there is still more work to be done next time around, we are proud of all we accomplished. More details to come, including a full summary and the full redline contract. We will also be holding bargaining unit meetings in the coming week to give you all the information you need leading into a vote, and some of your bargaining team members will be rounding at the hospital this weekend. 

YOU ARE WSNA! 

Do not hesitate to contact any of the officers if you have questions. All of our contacts are on our WSNA website. https://www.wsna.org/union/seattle-childrens-hospital. Also, utilizing our Instagram @sch_wsna offers quick updates and opportunities for DMs.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team

Annika Hoogestraat, Kara Yates, Lindsey Kirsch, Sam Forte, Katie Podobnik, Therese Hill, Kelsey Gellner, AJ Nagal, Emma Gordon, Sarah Munro, Cody Ian, Lauren Lustyk, Regan Halom, Jon McAferty and Anne Marie Fountain

WSNA Nurse Rep Linda Burbank at lburbank@wsna.org