On April 9, we met with the Hospital for our fourth bargaining session. We covered a lot of ground and tackled important issues. Our teams engaged in a number of discussions intended to help us align on key priorities.

Transition of Benefits and Leave

We passed a comprehensive proposal on Transition of Benefits and Leave. This proposal reflected the priorities expressed by our teams. Our focus was to retain benefits, get improvements where possible and avoid takeaways. Here are some highlights:

• Time Away from Work: WSNA Case Managers’ accrued time off will convert from four banks (Sick/Paid Sick & Safe Time, Vacation, Holiday, and Personal) to two banks.
• All hours which convert shall convert at a 1:1 ratio.
• All Vacation, Holiday, and Personal time scheduled and approved as of the Transition Date shall be honored, with the time coming out of the appropriate bank.
• The Employer shall pay all full-time and part-time WSNA Case Managers a deposit of sick leave hours.
• Accrued and unused hours in each WSNA Case Manager’s Personal leave bank as of the Transition Date shall convert to hours in that WSNA Case Manager’s Annual Leave bank. No cap applies to this conversion. WSNA Case Managers may elect to receive this accrued time as pay equal to their base rate of pay if indicated on an election form to be provided by the Employer.
• Effective on the first day of the calendar month following the Effective Date, CBA Article 13 shall apply, and WSNA Case Managers will begin to receive 100% employer paid premium for the employee-only portion for medical and the basic dental plan pursuant to CBA Article 13 (premiums for WSNA Case Managers enrolled in the Delta Dental Buy Up remain unchanged). WSNA Case Managers’ contributions for dependent coverage shall be the same as other bargaining unit nurses.
• Life and Disability Insurance: Life and disability insurance plans will remain the same with the benefits determined by the plan according to the WSNA Case Manager’s rate of pay at the time of claim. These Life and Disability plans, including Employer contributions and employee elections and costs, are the same as available to other bargaining unit nurses under Article 13.1 of the CBA.

The Hospital continued to push back on WSNA Case Managers having the ability to maintain or convert Personal leave hours. It is their position that your accrued hours will simply be lost. Our team is standing firm in our efforts when it comes to the transition of leave and benefits.

Economic Framework

We had lengthy discussions about an economic framework or concept. As we explore the options and benefits of various salary/hourly pathways, we wanted to get a sense of where the Hospital stood. So, we presented them with a conceptual framework for discussion purposes. It was clear that their interest was for the WSNA Case Managers to be paid hourly with all the applicable premiums in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Come get a detailed update from Attorney Jennifer Robbins at the Sip n Chat on Monday starting prompt at 5 pm. 

Microsoft Teams meeting
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/23416934595393?p=27Xp2atkxhdXjNxLlw
Meeting ID: 234 169 345 953 93
Passcode: jx7bL2Vg
Dial in by phone
+1 206-485-2614,,463616477#  United States, Seattle
(888) 313-0615,,463616477#  United States (Toll-free)
Find a local number
Phone conference ID: 463 616 477#

Years of Experience Parity Form

Please take a moment and complete the Years of Experience Parity Form in the link below. Send the completed form to WSNA Nurse Rep Linda Burbank at Lburbank@wsna.org.

We are WSNA – Stay Engaged

• Please complete the survey about your current status https://forms.office.com/r/ZimLBAVP2z
• Stay informed - Read all WSNA communications and status updates
• Engage & Participate – Watch for important updates on how to support your Bargaining Team at the table
• Join the virtual Sip & Chat every Monday following bargaining – next Sip & Chat is on April 13 from 5 pm – 7 pm (let’s discuss what happened in bargaining and next steps 🙂)
  Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/23416934595393?p=27Xp2atkxhdXjNxLlw (other details above)
• Provide Input/Feedback to your Bargaining Team
• Make sure you check out our WSNA webpage: https://www.wsna.org/union/seattle-childrens-hospital

Upcoming Bargaining Dates (We have more dates!)

• April 16 from 9 am – 5 pm
• April 30 from 9 am – 5 pm
• May 7 from 9 am – 5 pm
• May 14 from 9 am – 5pm

Thank you to Tami Hance (CM RN), Keun Young Choi (CM RN) and others for researching remote work and providing useful data! 💙

In solidarity,
Your Bargaining Team
Alefiya Deards, UM RN 
Serena Stamper, TLC RN Care Manager
Ginger Nelson, RNCM

Questions? Contact your Bargaining Team or WSNA Nurse Rep Linda Burbank at lburbank@wsna.org.