Contents:

• Sticker up Action
• Contract Corner
• Speak Up
• Committees
• Our WSNA Local Unit Website

Sticker Up Action

Sandwich Workers and their chosen union, Unite Here, will be holding a picket and sticker up campaign at 5:00 p.m. on August 18, 2022 right outside the main entrance of the hospital. The Sandwich Workers are asking all staff at SJMC to support them by wearing their stickers, especially on the 18th, the day of their picket.

WSNA nurses should not picket, but should wear stickers, sign their petition, and not buy Homegrown products.

Stickers will soon be available on the union bulletin boards throughout SJMC and also at the picket. For more information: Washington State Nurses Association - WSNA.

Contract Corner:

Welcome to Contract Corner! Our goal is to get you acquainted with your RN ‘Contract’ (otherwise known as your Employment Agreement or Collective Bargaining Agreement). This is the contract between the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) and St Joseph Medical Center (SJMC). It is specific to the registered nurses at SJMC and filled with important articles that define or relate to: your working conditions, your protections, the grievance process and more.

You can find your contract online by going to:

1. WSNA.org
2. Select Union News and Contracts
3. Go down to the Rainier Olympic Nurses Association section
4. Select CHI St Joseph Medical Center - Tacoma
5. Scroll down to Contract and click on the link
6. The RN contract will open for your viewing pleasure

The beauty of knowing how to access your contract online, is that it is always at your fingertips. It may feel intimidating when you first open the document, which consists of fifty something word-filled pages. If that’s the case, take a few breathes and start with bite-sized pieces.

This area of your newsletter will assist you with navigating the contract and learning the contents of the Articles. Each newsletter will highlight an article of the contract, in an effort to help nurses understand it. Especially, if it deals with a hot topic or current issue at the Hospital.

That said, let’s take a look at Article 7.6, which relates to RN ‘cuts’.

7.6 Flexible Staffing (Cut Hours). The Employer shall apply a system of flexible staffing to accommodate fluctuating patient census and staffing requirements. Nurses shall either be cut or placed on standby for the entire shift unless the affected nurses and the manager mutually agree otherwise. The nurse may opt to use earned PTO accruals to offset cut hours; if so, hours are to be entered under “PTO cut” utilizing the time clock. When scheduled staff exceeds patient care needs, the Employer would intend to reduce its staff in the following cut order:

First Cut - Agency
Next Cut - Nurses working in an overtime condition (excluding nurses receiving rest between shift premium pay)
Next Cut - Requested cut (volunteers)
Next Cut - Per Diem
Next Cut - Supplemental Part-time
Next Cut - Part-time working above their FTE
Next Cut - Mandatory cut equitably rotated to include full-time, part-time and temporary employees (Note: This rotation may be temporarily adjusted so as not to disrupt the continuity of preceptor assignments where a recognized learning experience is identified on the unit.)

The process of "equitable rotation" for mandatory cut hours shall be as follows: Beginning on April 1 and October 1, mandatory cuts will initially be assigned by seniority, least senior first, until all nurses have taken a cut. Two (2) weeks before April 1 and October 1, the most current seniority roster will be sent to the Association, and that list will be used for calculating seniority on the “cut list.” A Nurse may call the Staffing Office at any time to learn their position on the “cut list.” Credit for a cut is received when any duration of reduced time is voluntarily taken or mandatorily assigned, except if it is less than one hour, in which event it will not count as a cut, nor will the time be counted toward that nurse's cut hours. If all nurses subject to a mandatory cut have taken at least one cut in the semi-annual period, then the nurse with the least cut hours in that semi-annual period will take the cut. (Cuts for hours beyond an employee's FTE will not be credited toward cut hours.) Travelers will be regarded as temporary employees for purposes of this section. Subject to management approval, the majority of nurses in a particular unit or clinical group may modify the process of "equitable rotation" from that stated above, provided, however, that the process is defined in writing with a copy given to the Local Unit Chair upon request.

Cut hours will be applied by clinical group providing skill, competency, and ability are not considered to be overriding factors in the opinion of the Employer. When making staffing decisions prior to the beginning of the shift, all nurses within a clinical group will be considered as one staff for the purpose of cut hours. Nurses experiencing reduced hours will be given first consideration for additional hours of work provided they notify management in writing of the dates and shifts they are available. If a nurse is inadvertently cut out of turn, the mistake will be remedied on the next cut rotation by skipping the affected nurse on his/her next cut. This understanding shall be limited to two (2) inadvertent cuts per person per calendar year.

The Employer will give at least one and one-half (1 1/2) hours' notice in advance of the shift of pending cut hours. If the Employer does not attempt to notify the nurse at least one and one-half (1 1/2) hours in advance of the shift, and the nurse reports to work, the nurse will be provided with four (4) hours of work at the regular rate of pay.

Where the Employer has left a message on the nurse's telephone answering machine or has attempted to reach the nurse at home (documented attempts will be recorded in the staffing office) at least one and one-half (1 1/2) hours prior to the shift start time advising the nurse not to report for work, such communication shall constitute receipt of notice not to report for work and this Section shall not apply.

Twice annually, on April 1 and October 1, the cycle of applying cut hours will start over utilizing an updated seniority roster in each clinical group.

7.6.1- Clinical Groups. "For purposes of this section, a clinical group (a-q) is defined to include the following nursing units:

a. Medical, Surgical, Telemetry, Med/Surg float pool, and Med/Surg Transition Unit
b. Intensive Care Unit, Cardiac Surgery Unit, and Progressive Care Unit
c. Emergency Department
d. IV Therapy
e. Main OR, Walters Same Day Surgery OR
f. PACU Main, PACU Walters Same Day Surgery
g. SADU Main, SADU Walters Same Day Surgery, Prescreening Clinic, ECU
h. Same Day Surgery, Gig Harbor
i. Women and Infants
j. Outpatient Oncology, Inpatient Oncology, Bone Marrow Transplant
k. GI Lab
l. Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory
m. Interventional Radiology
n. Med/Surg - 2 South
o. Cardiac Rehab
p. Hyperbaric

Did you know the contract:

1. Provides the order in which nurses should be cut.
2. Differentiates between agency nurses and travelers.
3. Treats travelers as ‘temporary employees’.
4. Requires that seniority be considered in the cut rotation. (The process of "equitable rotation" for mandatory cut hours shall be as follows: Beginning on April 1 and October 1, mandatory cuts will initially be assigned by seniority, least senior first, until all nurses have taken a cut.)
5. Requires the Employer (SJMC) give the RN sufficient notice of a standby or cut. (The Employer will give at least one and one-half (11/2) hours' notice in advance of the shift of pending cut hours. If the Employer does not attempt to notify the nurse at least one and one-half (11/2) hours in advance of the shift, and the nurse reports to work, the nurse will be provided with four (4) hours of work at the regular rate of pay.)
6. Provides the remedy for nurses who are cut out of turn. (If a nurse is inadvertently cut out of turn, the mistake will be remedied on the next cut rotation by skipping the affected nurse on his/her next cut. This understanding shall be limited to two (2) inadvertent cuts per person per calendar year.)

When you are being placed on standby or cut, you have a right to ask staffing questions to confirm the standby or cut is compliant with the contract. If you feel that you are being cut out of turn, reach out to your WSNA Rep Barbara Friesen at bfriesen@wsna.org.

Speak Up

Abigail Garrison works in our FBC. She noticed for some unknown reason after a patient was discharged and housekeeping cleaned a room there were fumes that caused respiratory irritation even just walking by the room. Her concern was not just for herself but for her coworkers, patients, and the staff cleaning the rooms. She reached out to Environmental Services and reported what she was experiencing. The response she got back was good.

Environmental Services appreciated Abigail contacting them and assured her there would be more education to the staff that clean the rooms regarding the chemicals they use. This resolved the problem. Abigail encourages anyone who experiences anything similar to contact Environmental Services and report your concerns. Thank you, Abigail!

Committees in our WSNA contract

If you are interested in any vacant positions please contact any Local Unit Officer.

Lactation Committee:

The purpose of the Lactation Committee is to explore any potential barriers to employees having adequate time and space to express milk while at work. Currently, we are seeking input from staff regarding the adequacy of lactation rooms, ability of nurses to have adequate time to pump, and creative solutions to use flexible space as temporary lactation rooms. If you have experience or input to share, please email Emily D’Anna at Emily.danna@commonspirit.org.

Racial Justice Task Force:

The purpose of the Taskforce will be to develop a sustainable infrastructure at the Hospital that addresses and provides solutions and assistance to address myriad racial issues and promote racial justice at, around, and affecting the St. Joseph’s community, patients, and surrounding areas.

The Taskforce will develop a charter which will outline its goals and create a timeline for tasks, including attainable metrics. The Taskforce will initially discuss which other groups, individuals, or representatives should be invited to collaborate with it. In addition, the Taskforce will be represented on any Hospital-wide taskforces or committees dealing with issues of racial justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

WSNA Members: Emily D’Anna, Thalia Cruz, Yunna Flenord, Open position

Parking and Facility Safety Committee:

This committee will review potential solutions to parking and facility safety issues, including but not limited to maintaining the skybridge as a 24/7 badge entrance, the adequacy of parking escort services and regular security patrols in parking lots/areas especially in hours of darkness, and weapons screening at the Emergency Department entrances.

During the term of this 2021-2024 Agreement, the Hospital will not reduce any security measures (such as reopening of the skybridge as a badged entrance and maintaining a security officer on the corner of 19th & J during the 7 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. shift changes, and on weekdays, from 5:15 a.m. through 7:30 am.) without prior discussion in the Parking and Facility Safety Committee, absent exigent circumstances.

The committee will also receive reports from management representatives on their work with local authorities to improve safety in the vicinity of the Hospital campus.

WSNA Members: Matthew McGuire, Tina Masuda, Open position

Summary of the meeting on 5/23/22 with Ben Harris- ED Director and Landon LaBlanc - Security.

Tina Masuda was the only staff nurse that was able to attend this particular meeting and reports:

This committee meets to discuss parking and exterior facility safety and security issues.

Interesting Facts:

• Non-personnel related crimes i.e. car break ins have increased as the thieves are more emboldened.
• There is a uniformed security guard present on 16th & J St
• The surface lots and garages are monitored by an outside security service from 1900-0500. The shift is covered by 1 person in a vehicle that randomly patrols the parking areas. If there is an incident that requires attention the security company will notify SJMC security and/or Tacoma Police Dept.
• Security recommends not leaving your garage door openers and vehicle registration in your vehicle because it provides thieves your address and the ability to enter your home.

Tina did inquire about a few topics and both Ben and Landon said they would report back with answers at our next meeting in July.

• They will verify if video monitors are set up in the garages around SJMC.
  Answer: All cameras are working.
• They will let us know which floors of each garage are actually being monitored by video.
  No answer yet.
• They will present options of signage to hang in the parking areas i.e. Do not leave valuables in the car, Caution: High Prowl Area.
  Answer: The first flyer drafted
• They will list the self-screen areas that are open 24x7.
  Answer: Entrance/Screening Stations
• They will let us know which parking areas are reserved for On-Call staff and find out which On-Call staff can use them.
  a. Answer: Reserved Parking for On-Call Teams:
  Currently there are two reserved spots:
  1. ED Lid for HCL
  2. Across from ambulance bay for Trauma Providers
  
• North Pavilion garage is being returned to employee/provider parking July 2022 (TBD).

If you have any Parking and/or Exterior Facility Safety or Security concerns, please contact any of the WSNA committee members or Barbara Friesen bfriesen@wsna.org.

Staffing Committee

Transparency:

1. Our goal is to make sure that Nurses are aware of, and involved in, what is going on with the Nurse Staffing Committee (NSC) aka the Safe Staffing Committee.
2. Places you can find Safe Staffing Committee information and documents (ie Staffing Plans, Meeting Minutes, Charters, Bylaws, Member Roster, Unit Report Out Schedules, ADO Algorithm) on the CommonSpirit Intranet (Nursing Portal), on the WSNA.org Local Unit website, and in the Local Unit Newsletter.
3. If you have any questions, or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your NSC Members, or your WSNA Nurse Rep (Barbara Friesen – bfriesen@wsna.org).
   a. Current RN Staff NSC Members include:
   i. Shelly Mead, RN ED – Co Chair - shelly.mead@comcast.net
   ii. Sally Budack, RN SADU Unit – sallybudack@chifranciscan.org
   iii. Amanda Chang, RN Family Birth Center (FBC) – Amanda.Chang502@commonspirit.org
   iv. Kaitlin Frazier, RN Med/Surg (7 th Floor) – fraziek8@gmail.com
   v. Yunna Flenord, RN ICU (5 th Floor) – yflenord@gmail.com
   vi. Emily D’Anna, RN FBC (Non-Voting Ad hoc Member) –emilynollmeyer@gmail.com
   Vacancies: 2 Member Seats; 2 Ad hoc Seats

ADO Subcommittee

We continue to get ADOs from the nurses describing unsafe and/or unsupported working conditions. This documentation is important for your protection, and to help fight for patient and staff safety. Every single ADO is read and scrutinized by the ADO subcommittee members. The members are tasked with determining if the ADO has been resolved, unresolved or should be dismissed. The vast majority of the ADOs at SJMC have been determined to be ‘unresolved’. We have escalated the chronic issues up the Leadership chain and are pressing for intervention.

Many campus safety issues have been brought forward in the ADOs. This has given us concrete information to use in our communication with Leadership. We are now working with the Safety Committee to establish a plan that will lead to ‘resolving’ these issues: car break-ins, destruction of property, theft, threats to employees, etc. We also have new contract language to support our efforts. Top issues raised in the ADOS are acuity, missed breaks, and Charge RN/break nurses being pulled.

We know it doesn’t always feel like it makes a difference to submit an ADO, but it is incredibly important and helpful. Please keep submitting them!

Conference Committee

Conference committee is the place guaranteed by our contract to facilitate communication between management and nursing staff and discuss matters that affect nurses’ working conditions. Our WSNA Local Unit Officers meet with management every other month on the third Wednesday of the month. Staffing and ADOs are a standing agenda items at every meeting. Other agenda items may include an issue we are trying to resolve collaboratively without filing a grievance or may be something there is no specific contract language about but still needs to be addressed. Minutes are taken at every meeting and posted on our WSNA bulletin boards. If you have ideas, thoughts, or concerns, please make sure you contact one of our Local Unit Reps or Local Unit Officers so the matter can be addressed.

Paycheck Errors Committee

Payroll Issues; The Division Director of HR Operations and the Medical Center HR Director shall, within ninety (90) days of contract ratification, meet with a committee of three (3) nurses as appointed by the Association for up to two (2) hours to hear and discuss concerns regarding pay stubs, paycheck errors and related payroll issues. Thereafter, the Division Director of HR Operations and the Medical Center HR Director shall meet with the WSNA committee up to three (3) times for two (2) hours during the succeeding twelve (12) months. The nurses who attend the meetings shall attend on paid time.

WSNA Members: Dian Davis, Tina Masuda, Open Position

Rest Breaks Committee

The Rest Breaks Committee was created as part of a settlement agreement for a 2015 law suit WSNA filed against SJMC regarding nurses’ missed breaks. The members of the committee are SJMC leadership and WSNA Local Unit Officers. The meetings are held quarterly. Meeting topics include the number of missed breaks that are occurring on each unit. This is why it is so important all missed breaks get documented. ADOs with detailed information about why breaks are missed is very helpful too, especially when the break nurse is pulled and missed breaks are a result.

WSNA Members: WSNA Local Unit Officers

Pierce County Central Labor Council

As a member of the Washington State Labor Council, the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) values its relationship with regional central labor councils across the state of Washington. WSNA’s regional central labor council delegates are critical to ensuring that local units are connected to their local and regional labor communities.

At the state level, WSNA has a seat on the Executive Board of the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), participates in WSLC’s Political Committee, United Labor Lobby coalition in Olympia (state legislative issues), and collaborates strategically on a variety of labor issues. Over the decades, WSNA’s relationship with WSLC has resulted in a unified show of strength whether in contract negotiations or in the legislative arena and beyond.

Regional central labor council delegates are critical to enhancing this statewide relationship at the local level. The solidarity that results from this relationship is vital to ensuring the best possible working conditions for workers across the state of Washington. This relationship results in solidarity across labor, pushing for the best possible working conditions in all Washington industries.

Our WSNA delegates: Emily D’Anna, Matthew McGuire, Shelly Mead, Yunna Flenord, Open position

Our WSNA Local Unit Website

We have our own Local Unit WSNA website! If you need to see our contract, past communications, or get in touch with a Unit Rep, Local Unit Officer, or Nurse Rep check out our page at https://www.wsna.org/union/st-joseph-medical-center.

In solidarity,
your officers:
Co-Chair: Dian Davis
Co-Chair: Matthew McGuire
Co-Secretary: Sally Budack
Co-Secretary: Emily D’Anna
Treasurer: Matthew McGuire
Grievance Officer: Shelly Mead
Grievance Officer: Yunna Flenord
Membership Officer: Teresa Kindell