In this newsletter you’ll find the following updates

• Pay grievance update
• Scheduling grievance update
• IENA Opportunity
• Union membership

Grievance Updates

Pay Grievance

In January, our union filed a grievance related to the premiums in Article 41.18 and 41.19 which details how evening and night shift differentials are applied. These articles also include weekend premium. What we found in January was that when a day shift nurse worked an evening shift, the Employer was NOT paying the evening differential or weekend differential because they stated it didn’t accrue on OT hours. Our union does not interpret the contract this way and we believe nurses should receive those premiums for all hours worked.

We met with DVA leadership last week and they are actively reviewing the grievant nurse’s paystubs to identify how premiums are being paid. They have assured us they will review all nurses’ paystubs and backpay for missing premiums but it will be a slow, manual process. We will keep you update as we learn more.

Scheduling Grievance Update

A few months back our union filed a grievance relating to work schedules not being posted 30 days in advance. We have received some mixed feedback on how this process is going and would love to hear from nurses. Is your schedule being posted every 30 days? How is it being posted? How often is it updated for staffing holes? Reach out to your WSNA Nurse rep and let us know.

IENA Opportunity

Join our regional nurse’s association on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, from 5-8 pm at the Ruby River Hotel. This event is our legislative reception dinner and nurses will receive 1.5 CE. This event is free with dinner, but nurses do need to register for a head count. RSVP here today and save your seat!

Union membership matters!

Membership in our union is crucial because it provides workers with a collective voice. By banding together, we gain strength and leverage to address our important workplace issues and advocate for our rights effectively. Our strength comes from our numbers, and we’ve seen this in action through recent bargaining. The DVA originally was only going to offer 1% and 0% raises and through the efforts of our nurses and our unions we were able to secure higher across the board raises and raise steps for RN2 and RN3 nurses.

Why should you join WSNA now if you haven’t before? 

Support for unions in America is higher than it has been in decades, with 70 percent of the public viewing unions favorably (Gallup, 2024). Yet at the very moment unions are gaining strength, labor rights are facing historic challenges. Recently, the National Labor Relations Board, the institution created in the 1930s to protect workers’ rights, was declared unconstitutional. Board members have been dismissed without cause, leaving too few to enforce labor law. Federal unions, including those in the VA, have been stripped away by executive action.

These attacks are not about party politics. They are about power, and whether working people will continue to have a voice on the job

It is the collective effort of workers, our physical and mental contributions, that drives the economy. Without workers, nothing moves forward. Without unions, those workers are left at the mercy of corporate interests.

Because of organized labor, we have the 40-hour workweek, weekends, paid time off, higher wages, safer working conditions, access to healthcare, and the end of child labor. Washington nurses know this firsthand: we have some of the strongest wages and protections in the nation because of union strength. These gains do not only benefit union members but raise standards for all workers.

None of this was freely given. It was won through struggle, and often at great cost. Workers lost their lives in tragedies like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and many faced violence for demanding safe workplaces and fair pay. We encourage you to remember where our labor history comes from and to become a part of that today by signing up for union membership.

Questions? Contact your WSNA Nurse Rep Alle Machorro at amachorro@wsna.org.