The employer has committed to staffing standards in our contract that are enforceable and allow us to hold the employer accountable despite the administration telling us they would not agree to staffing language beyond the requirements of the staffing law. In this agreement, they have agreed to staffing standards in our contract for the first time. We believe that these standards give us a solid foundation to continue to advocate for improved staffing at SJMC.

We negotiated meaningful and concrete staffing language to strengthen our collective voice on nurse staffing committee. Specifically, it includes:

• Agreement from the employer that the hospital will strive to maintain staffing levels that provide for safe patient care and health and safety of nurses.
• Agreement that all changes to the staffing plan (aka alternative staffing) in any unit will go back to the staffing committee for approval.
• Commitment from the employer to endeavor to:
  • Provide staffing levels for nurses to get breaks.
  • Provide staffing levels for nurses to use their PTO.
  • Refrain from assigning more patients than in the staffing plan.
  • Avoid assigning charge nurses to patient care duties.
• Commitment to hold nurse staffing committee meetings at least every 2 months.
• Agreement to have a WSNA nurse representative attend staffing committee meetings.

We will be able to hold the employer accountable through the grievance process that may lead to a neutral 3^rd party arbitrator to enforce these standards. Our fight for safe staffing doesn’t end with the contract. We are actively compiling evidence for a complaint to the Joint Commission and the Department of Health.

We achieved gains in all three of our key priorities on wages, staffing and retro pay. This is a significant building block towards our next contract. We need your activism and commitment to continue the movement we have built here at St. Joe’s.

Contract Ratification Vote

July 18, 2019
Noon-3 p.m. - Lagerquist C
3:30-5:30 p.m. - Lagerquist C
6-9 p.m. - Lagerquist C

July 19, 2019
6-9 a.m. - Lagerquist C
10 a.m.-1 p.m. - Lagerquist C
2-4:30 p.m. - Lagerquist C
6-9 p.m. - Lagerquist A/B

Questions? Contact WSNA Nurse Representative Hanna Welander at hwelander@wsna.org or by calling 206-575-7979, ext. 3035.