It is time to develop a slate of candidates for our Local Unit Officers. Our local unit’s strength and effectiveness is determined by the level of participation. Elected WSNA Local Unit Officers and appointed Unit Reps work in partnership with the WSNA Nurse Representative and are the backbone of our local unit. Overviews of each position are included below.

If you are interested in being a leader in our Local Unit or know someone who might be a great candidate, this is your opportunity to nominate yourself or someone whom you feel would fill the role well. Training for each of these positions will be provided. Officer and Unit Rep terms are for three (3) years.

Please nominate yourself or someone else. If you are nominating someone as Local Unit Officer, other than yourself, they will have to agree to be placed on the slate, so encourage them to run! If you are nominating yourself, please complete your own Consent to Serve form (available on your local unit web page or at https://wsna.to/UWMLconsent). All nominees must be members in good standing. Unit Reps are not required to complete the Consent to Serve forms. All nominations must be received by December 31, 2025.

You can make nominations for as many or as few offices as you choose. You can also enter more than one nomination for a single office.

WSNA Local Unit Officer and Unit Rep Position Overview

Elected Officers: Chairperson, Vice- Chairperson, Secretary Treasurer, Grievance Officer (up to 7 persons), Membership Officer 

Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
The Local Unit Chair and Vice-Chair are the leaders and coordinators of the local unit. The Chair is responsible for ensuring that goals and business of the Local Unit are accomplished. The goals are that members are informed and involved, that the Local Unit Rules are followed, and committees are functioning and accountable. Sounds like a big job–it is! Don’t worry– you do not have to do this alone!

Secretary
The Local Unit Secretary, as an officer and member of the Local Unit Executive Committee, is responsible for ensuring that all officers and committees of the local unit are notified of upcoming meetings and events. The Local Unit Secretary assists with gathering information for the local unit newsletters and works with the Local Unit Chair in sending the materials to the WSNA Nurse Representative at the WSNA Office.

Treasurer
In 1978, the membership of the Washington State Nurses Association voted to allocate 4% of dues paid by each member of a bargaining unit to a local unit fund to be used to support activities of each local unit. Since then, funds have been used to assist local unit officers and others to carry on the important tasks in representing the interests of members. The Treasurer’s duties include authorizing and signing for payment of bills that have been approved by the Chairperson; keeping an itemized account of all receipts and disbursements; reporting to the Executive Committee on the status of the dues.

Grievance Officer (Up to (7) Grievance Officers can be elected)
The Grievance Officer is an important office in the local bargaining unit and a member of the Local Unit Executive Team. The Grievance Officer oversees contract enforcement using the grievance procedure found in the contract, and by doing so, advocates for all nurses.

Membership Officer
The Membership Officer attends all new hire orientations to allow nurses to sign up for membership. The Membership Coordinator is also responsible for ensuring that Unit Reps update the bulletin boards on all units.

Appointed Position: Local Unit Rep

Local Unit Rep
All units need at least one Unit Rep for each shift. The Unit Rep is the appointed primary point of contact between nurses in the unit, Local Unit Officers, and WSNA Staff. A Unit Rep welcomes and introduces themselves and WSNA to new nurses in their clinical area. Unit Reps are a resource to nurses in their clinic and across the bargaining unit. Unit Reps collect and distribute information so that nurses and Local Unit Officers can work together for maximum contract enforcement.

Questions? Contact WSNA Organizer Sam Scholl at sscholl@wsna.org or WSNA Nurse Representative Ed Zercher ezercher@wsna.org