After nearly a year and a half of bargaining, we have reached a TA!  This was a historic fight. We fought for a longevity wage scale that:

• Establishes rules of the road for step placement
• Improves alignment with the market
• Includes new $ for the most senior nurses, equivalent to an extra 1% at Step 21
• Has improvements that positively impacts both recruitment and retention, including by accelerating the pace at which employees receive extra compensation to reward their longevity with the County
• Maximizes meaningful financial gains
• Allows for future improvements to the scale

The last year and a half has represented what it looks like when nurses stand up, including:

• A year and a half fight for a FAIR contract (not backing down)
• Allowing the contract to expire in favor of continuing our unified efforts to achieve our priorities
• A persistent cascade of ACTIONS - a rally to remember, partnering with the community and local officials, making our voice heard in a variety of forums (Board of Health, King County Council), escalating our message via social media and media outlets, solidarity efforts (WSNA T-shirts, stickers, petitions, stories, placards)

TA Highlights:

We’ve reached numerous TAs between the two bargaining units (Supervisors/Staff) on the following. This is not an exhaustive list 😊:

• A 21-Step Longevity Wage Scale to take effect in January 2028 under which every single nurse will make more faster (we rejected the County’s proposal to simply stretch out how long it would take to hit top step!)
• FULL retroactive payment to January 1, 2026
• Stronger nondiscrimination language
• Continuation of reduced Parking at Goat Hill
• Master’s/Doctoral Step recognition
• Improvements to Bilingual Pay
• Non-retaliation for raising staffing concerns
• Improvements to Continuing Education Money
• “Rules of the Road” to ensure consistent new hire step placement incorporated into the contract.

Next Steps:

1. Virtual Information Sessions, dates and full details of all TAs to come
2. Electronic ratification vote, dates and full details to come.
   
   Note: A valid and updated email address is the only way to receive your ballot.
   
   Please ensure your email is up to date by using this link: https://www.wsna.org/membership/update-info
3. Local Unit Officer nominations and elections following ratification of the contract by WSNA members in good standing
4. Make sure you check out your WSNA webpage and read all WSNA communications that come directly to you by email and/or text alerts: https://www.wsna.org/union/seattle-king-county-health-dept-staff

A full TA Summary details will be available soon!

To vote, you must be a member in good standing. If you are not yet a WSNA member, you can join by the online membership application here https://wsnaonlineapplicationportalwsnaprod.powerappsportals.com/

A HUGE thank you to each and every one of you that participated in the many actions and Sip n’ Chat calls. Even when progress seemed impossible, we remained united and persevered!

WE ARE WSNA!

In solidarity, your WSNA bargaining team,
Elena Schensted, Chair, Columbia City Clinic
Stephen Lee, Vice Chair, Jail Health MRJC
Evie Devera, Secretary/Treasurer, Downtown Clinic
Tami Nesler, Grievance officer, Jail Health MRJC
Carolyn Clark, Grievance officer, Jail Health KCCF
Kiesha Garcia-Stubbs, Grievance officer, Downtown Clinic

Questions? Contact your Bargaining Team or WSNA Nurse Rep Tara Barnes tbarnes@wsna.org