We met jointly as staff and supervisor nurses with the County on August 11 for our fifteenth session.

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

• Robin Laurence, Interim CNO
• Erin Larson, CHS Area Manager
• Mariya Kunin, CHS Employee Labor Relations
• James Crowe, Office of Labor Relations; Lead Negotiator
• Jake Ketchum, CHS Area Manager
• Martha Castro, CHS Division Deputy Director

Absent from the table, but usually at the table:

• Rebecca Cole, Continuous Improvement Specialist JHS
• David Clayborn Employee Labor relations for public health and jail health
• Adrienne Miller Prevention Division director

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

• Elena Schensted, Chair - Staff Nurse
• Kiesha Garcia-Stubbs, CHS Grievance Officer - Staff Nurse
• Evie Devera, Secretary/Treasurer - Staff Nurse
• Stephen Lee, Vice Chair - Staff Nurse
• Carolyn Clark, JHS Grievance - Staff Nurse
• Christopher Salataka, Vice Chair - Supervisor Nurse
• Annie Roberts, Secretary/Treasurer – Supervisor Nurse
• Linda Burbank, WSNA Supervisor Representative
• Danielle Franco-Malone, WSNA Counsel
• Tara Barnes, WSNA Staff Representative

The County provided a package proposal that encompasses all open proposals from both the County and the union. Here’s the shorthand updates on our highest-stake items:

• No movement on longevity
  • We vulnerably voiced our frustration and discontentment to the County regarding their lack of movement or acknowledgement of how significant this proposal is for their staff nurses.
• Movement on parking
  • The County has proposed to keep parking at Goat Hill until December 2028 due to ongoing staffing challenges.
  • The County is proposing to maintain parking benefits for jail health nurses. This movement was made as part of a package proposal, which included the County refusing to increase limits on comp time accrual. While both benefits impact recruitment and retention, they address different needs. Parking is for safe and affordable access to the workplace, while comp time allows nurses to recover from the demands of high-stress work. We continued to fight for increased comp time at the bargaining table.
• Movement on wage increase
  • The County has proposed 3.75% General Wage Increases (GWI) for 2026 and 2027. They also proposed a 3-year contract with GWI between 3% and 4% in the third year, depending on inflation.
• Movement on grieving discrimination
  • The County proposed for discrimination claims to be grievable, but not arbitrable.

How you can share your voice with the county, community and stakeholders to reach an agreement we can recommend to the voting WSNA membership of the staff nurses:

• If you haven’t already, please sign the petition demanding a fair contract. We need to show the county that ALL its nurses are unified in our demands.
• Find these placards and take a photo to post to social media. You can find them at several work sites or download and print from our WSNA webpage. Send them to Nurse Representative Tara Barnes tbarnes@wsna.org so we can share our messages:

Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/phskc_staffnurses/

We addressed and displayed the supportive statements we received from the public and our solidarity signs with the County, reflecting the valuable, enduring connection between Seattle King County nurses and the community. While we are scheduled to meet again on August 26, we were clear that the County has not yet provided pertinent information requests for our priority proposals. They need to demonstrate that they are serious about coming to agreement. We will continue to provide updates.

Questions about this update? Contact a team member or Nurse Representative Tara Barnes https://www.wsna.org/union/seattle-king-county-health-dept-staff