After two long months apart, we met with the County for our 16^th session:

Here’s who was at the table today on the county's side:

• Robin Laurence, Interim CNO
• Erin Larson, CHS Area Manager
• James Crowe, Office of Labor Relations
• Jake Ketchum, CHS Area Manager
• Martha Castro, CHS Division Deputy Director
• David Clayborne, HR Representative for Labor and Relation

Absent from the table, but usually present:

• Rebecca Cole, Continuous Improvement Specialist JHS

Here’s who was at the table today on the WSNA Staff/Supervisor’s side:

• Evie Devera, Secretary/Treasurer - Staff WSNA
• Carolyn Clark, JHS Grievance - Staff WSNA
• Christopher Salataka, Vice Chair - Supervisor WSNA
• Annie Roberts, Secretary/Treasurer - Supervisor WSNA
• Linda Burbank, WSNA Supervisor Representative
• Danielle Franco-Malone, WSNA Counsel
• Tara Barnes, WSNA Staff Representative

Absent from today, but usually present:

• Elena Schenstead, Chair - Staff WSNA
• Kiesha Garcia-Stubbs, Grievance Officer - Staff WSNA
• Stephen Lee, Vice Chair - Staff WSNA

Observers

• Edna Padilla Cortez, Chairperson Labor Executive Council for WSNA

What happened

The County shared that they started modeling what a 25-step wage scale could look like. They started working on modeling this week, despite us asking for this when bargaining started in February.

• Evie: “I’m hoping that the County finally is actually generating models for what a 25-step wage scale could look like…this would an opening for us to finally move forward in our longevity conversations.”
• Carolyn: “We feel like this banter back and forth has gone on far too long and the time for action is way past. I am bringing the frustration and anger from our staff and supervisor units loudly and proudly into the room.”
• Tami: “We are feeling so frustrated with the stagnation of movement on our priority issues. We know that the county has delayed answering our RFI (requests for information). We see this as an intentional tactic of bad faith bargaining.”

What's Next

We know most King County nurses are as frustrated as we are! We must increase our collective actions and continue to stand together to keep the momentum going:

1. Join our unity delegation as we deliver our petitions and address the full council about our fight for a fair contract on Tuesday October 28th.  We assemble at 115pm for a start at 130pm sharp. Wear your WSNA T-shirt, we will have extra 🙂. The Council is responsible for passing the budget, including the market-rate wages and longevity premiums we are fighting for.
2. We are in the process of scheduling a meeting with the County Executive to drive home our message. Stay tuned!
3. Send us your pics with your WSNA t-shirt as a selfie or with groups to tbarnes@wsna.org

While our contract expires December 31, we’re not done – let’s keep up the fight!

Your bargaining team, 
Tami Nesler MRJC
Evie Devera Downtown Clinic
Carolyn Clark KCCF

Tara Barnes Nurse Representative tbarnes@wsna.org

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