After 13 sessions, we are excited to announce that we reached a Tentative Agreement tonight! The average nurse will see a wage increase of over 25% over the next three years, and the updates we’ve made throughout the contract will bring meaningful, immediate, and long-lasting improvements to our paychecks and daily lives both on and off the job.  That’s why your bargaining team unanimously recommends a YES vote!

We are proud of this contract and how it addressed so many of the priorities you all brought to the bargaining team over the past several months. A record number of nurses filled out the pre-bargaining survey over the summer, and that feedback, the conversations we had at the events, and the input we got from everyone who attended bargaining with us guided our bargaining team and helped us set priorities and fight for every win we’ve achieved.  Thank you for your strength, your trust, and your solidarity.

Below are some of the highlights we are especially proud of.  For more info, be sure to keep an eye on your email – tomorrow we’ll be sending a detailed summary of every change in the TA, complete with wage scales. Our new accelerated wage scale will give some nurses a significant raise right off the bat as soon as March 8^th. You’ll get all the details on that wage scale and these other highlights tomorrow:

Key Tentative Agreement Highlights

• Accelerated wage scale that meets or beats nearly all area facilities and provides significant raises for our entire bargaining unit
• Break Nurses with unit-based council input on break nurse plans with regular oversight from our bargaining unit
• An EIB transition plan that works for everyone, allows us to keep our accrued EIB banks, and makes our paid time off accrue faster, go further, and allow for longer leaves sooner in our careers.
• Low Census updates, including a mandatory LC cap pilot program for Ray Hickey Hospice House and a plan for making low census more equitable
• Clearer language about rest between shifts that permits nurses to trade call shifts without being disqualified from this premium
• A new short-notice standby/call premium that adds $10/hour to call shifts assigned in procedural areas less than 24 hours ahead of time. 

Home and Community Highlights

We have been clear from the beginning that one of our top priorities was to fight for Home and Community nurses. While management refused parity this round and would not agree to put Home and Community on the Acute Pay Grade, we remained adamant that all nurses should be treated equally. Although we did not achieve everything we set out to, we did make significant improvements for Home and Community Nurses. We know it's unfair, and we don’t like it. However, we believe the total package is a big win for Home and Community RNs, and the wages in this contract will make us among the highest-paid Home and Community nurses in the state.

• Even wage percentage increases across all grades – Home and Community RNs will get the same accelerated wage scale structure that applies across our bargaining unit.
• A step adjustment process that audits and credits Home and Community RNs for their work outside of acute care prior to hire
• Scaled productivity requirements to ensure nurses are no longer expected to work past their schedule shift end time to finish their assignments
• Dedicated Staffing Committee and Conference Committee meetings for nurses working outside the acute care hospital
• Improvements that protect your paid time driving to your first appointment or from your last appointment when you start or end your shift at home.
• A mandatory low census cap rolling out exclusively in Ray Hickey Hospice House as a pilot program after ratification

Home and Community Meeting March 3

We will hold a special meeting to discuss what the new contract has in store for Home and Community RNs. We will answer your questions. We will also discuss how you can help us move forward by working on issues in our new committees and by providing data to help bring changes using ADOs.

https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/23136634864499?p=8jYA4cr85gOLgTWEIo
Dial in by phone +1 206-485-2614,,811138149#

We invite ALL NURSES to find a way to get involved

Even the strongest contract can’t help us if we don’t enforce it. As we move forward with our new contract, let's turn enforcement into a shared campaign. In the first week, we invite each nurse to pick one committee meeting or WSNA meeting to attend this quarter and bring back a takeaway to their unit. By actively showing up, sharing what you learn, and talking with your coworkers, you help make enforcement real and immediate from day one. Every nurse's involvement is critical as we use these tools and committees to keep improving our work environment together.

What’s Next? 

1) Make sure you are eligible and ready to vote - don’t delay!

You must be a member in good standing to vote. Do not share the electronic ballot link you are sent – it is specific to only the nurse it was sent to.

Please make sure your contact information with WSNA is up to date. You can update your email address or other information at the link below:
https://www.wsna.org/membership/update-info.

If you are not a member, it’s not too late to join:

https://wsnaonlineapplicationportalwsnaprod.powerappsportals.com/

2) Final Bargaining Beat March 4 - Ballot Kick-Off

Join us for a celebratory edition of Bargaining Beat on March 4 at 6:30 pm.  We'll walk through the agreement, share how we got here, and answer your questions.

Join the meeting

3) Electronic Voting Opens - March 4 at 8 pm

Ballots will be emailed to your personal email address. If you are a dues-paying member and do not receive a link to vote, first check your spam or trash folder in your email.

For technical support or if you did not receive your ballot, email Jared Richardson at jrichardson@wsna.org. Please do not use this email for contract-related questions – bring those to office hours or email your bargaining team!

4) Questions?  Online Office Hours March 5

The bargaining team and lead negotiator will be available on Teams in two sessions to discuss the Tentative Agreement (TA), answer your questions, and explain why the team is unanimously recommending a YES vote.  This is the same link as our recurring Bargaining Beat.

6 – 8 am AND 5 – 7 pm

Join the meeting

5) Voting Closes at 8 pm - March 5

Don’t procrastinate - digital voting closes exactly at 8:00 pm. Results will be sent out approximately 30 minutes after voting closes.

We are so proud of the work that went into getting this TA, and we wholeheartedly endorse a YES vote. Thank you to all the nurses who stood shoulder to shoulder with us for this fight.

https://www.instagram.com/phsw_nurses/

In solidarity,

WSNA PeaceHealth Southwest Bargaining Team:
Alyssa Boswell, Home Hospice
Dawn Marick, MedSurg
Duncan Camacho, ICU
Dustin Weddle, ED
Jacob Clark, CVICU
Maria Hosseini, Cathlab
Sam Golden, IMCU
Sarah Albright, Peri-Op
Toutu Rekucki, MedSurg

Questions? Contact your WSNA Nurse Representative, Bret Percival, at bpercival@wsna.org .