Negotiations with Providence St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Medical Center remain slow. We continue to press on issues that are important to our fellow nurses.  For example, we are proposing that Providence St. Luke’s maintain a float pool that is of sufficient size to staff to matrices when considering foreseeable absences.   We feel that a strong float pool will lessen the need for other nurses to float.  We are also proposing a float premium whenever a nurse, not in the float pool, floats.  Management rejected this proposal.

All our nurses know that this facility has had a longstanding traveler issue; and we are bringing proposals to strengthen the core nursing staff of St. Luke’s.

WSNA spent significant time working on our proposals around PTO and how we define a preceptor. We have modified it to not only more than double the premium amount but also to require preceptor pay when nurses precept senior practicum students.  Providence St. Luke’s rejected the notion of paying nurses to precept students despite our proposal.

WSNA proposed that holiday pay be altered so that it is more fairly distributed among staff. We have heard from nurses that, if they work the night of July 4, for example, they want to receive some holiday pay for any hours worked on that day. Providence St. Luke’s rejected this common-sense proposal saying that it would be difficult to configure KRONOS to track it.

We remain hopeful that the administration will see the value in our proposals and tentatively agree to move the work forward. We continue to fight for a meaningful voice in our working conditions, proper orientation and training, excellent staffing and wages that compete with surrounding employers to recruit and retain nurses at Providence St. Luke’s.

Please contact Alle Machorro WSNA Nurse Rep at amachorro@wsna.org or 206-575-7979 ext 3137 with questions or to find out how you can help get a fair contract.

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