Yesterday, your WSNA bargaining team met with Management for our second bargaining session.

As we reported last week, on May 28, WSNA presented a proposal to expand Seattle Children’s commitment to anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion for all individuals across identities and differences. Specifically,

• WSNA proposed to add clarity to the CBA preamble. The CBA currently says, “racism is a public health crises, that racism has no place within Seattle Children’s Hospital, and that racism affects the health of employees, patients, and patients’ families.”
• WSNA proposed expanding and adding to this language. We acknowledged that these issues are of particular significance in this historical moment. Members of your bargaining team spoke at length about the continued issues nurses and patients face and the work still to be done.  These nurses grounded their request in the ANA Code of Ethics, which we as nurses live by every day – a code that recently celebrated its 75th anniversary.

We are still awaiting a response from the hospital on this important language.  We let Seattle Children’s know that we believe this preamble language will be easy for the Hospital to agree to, as it is consistent with the commitments the Hospital has made in recent years to its patients, its employees, and to the public.

In this week’s negotiation meeting on June 3, we proposed putting Seattle Children’s non-discrimination language from policy into the CBA. We also proposed language in Article 5 that requires the Hospital to protect nurses who complain or help their coworkers complain about discrimination, harassment, or their working conditions without fear of retaliation.  Again, we don’t think these are hard asks. Article 5 also contains language on FTE changes, and we further defined the process for how this should be occurring in a systematic, transparent and collaborative manner.

To reference a sports analogy, this one is also a lay-up from our perspective. Our proposal prioritizes retention for the valuable contributions our nurses bring to their specialties. We recognize that established work relationships, areas of expertise, and a dedicated passion for a specific patient population are considered when our nurses submit FTE change requests. Those nurses want to stay in their position. Life balance needs are the reason for the request and offering clear pathways to achieve those objectives are beneficial to both parties.

We ended the day by passing a proposal on a new article that takes a deep dive into defining floating and how that should apply to all of our nurses, including limiting floating to within everyone’s clinical grouping, and adding stronger language that limits floating ambulatory nurses to inpatient unless they volunteer to do so. We’re awaiting their counter-offers and questions regarding the late-day presentation.

So far, the Hospital has not agreed to any of these proposals. In fact, the Hospital has not responded to any of WSNA’s proposals, saying it needs to review all of WSNA’s proposed non-economic language changes before responding to any one proposal.  We are disappointed that the Hospital did not immediately agree to the anti-racism, anti-discrimination, and equity, diversity, and inclusion principles. Agreeing to treat all nurses fairly should not be hard to do.

Seattle Children's Changes Law Firms

On a side note, we thought it would be beneficial for all of our bargaining unit nurses to know that the Hospital has made a significant change in its outside counsel. For the first time in Seattle Children’s history, they chose a global “Big Law” firm for their legal representation. As referenced on their firm’s website, Morgan Lewis & Bockius represents 80% of the Fortune 100 companies, including 9 of the top 10 - so affordability is likely not the reason why Seattle Children’s changed.

 We won’t be meeting with the employer again for several weeks, but your bargaining team is working hard between now and then to develop proposals for a strong contract to raise wages and improve working conditions.

In the meantime, we’ll be having the first of our every-other week meet-ups THIS FRIDAY, June 6. Join us at Magnuson Cafe and Brewery from 5-7 pm. We look forward to the opportunity to meet with you, sip and chat. Also, please continue to follow our Instagram @sch_wsna for more information, just-in-time updates and opportunities for discussion.

Interested in reading portions of our thoughtful preamble language proposal? Read below -

We asked Seattle Children’s to agree:

• “Consistent with the Code of Ethics for nurses, the parties recognize that nurses should practice with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person; that nurses must recognize racism and other forms of bigotry, prejudicial bias, and discrimination (e.g., ableism, ageism, classism, heterosexism, sexism) as harmful assaults that negatively impact care and violate the human dignity of an individual including prejudicial bias based on gender identity; and nurses must condemn all forms of oppression and demonstrate intentional efforts to reflect and act upon social justice issues that influence health outcomes and healthcare equity.”
• “Consistent with its mission, vision, and values, the parties recognize that Seattle Children’s Hospital must be rooted in humanity, recognizing the dignity of every patient, family member, and healthcare worker in its system; the leadership of Seattle Children’s Hospital have both the privilege and responsibility to work to eliminate systemic health inequities; the hospital must champion anti-racism and address any form of systemic racism in the organization.”
• The parties agree that “Racial diversity, equity and inclusion must be at the core of the work done at Seattle Children’s Hospital, as must diversity, equity and inclusion for all individuals across identities and differences, including ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religious beliefs, tribe, caste, age, and class. These values are essential to the successful execution of the hospital’s mission. We share a commitment to oppose unequal treatment of nurses or patients based on their membership in a protected class and to actively address ableism, classism, homophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia, and xenophobia at Seattle Children’s Hospital.”

Why would Seattle Children’s object to this language?

Call to Action

Sign up to Observe Negotiations

We want to thank our observers from Outpatient Psych, NICU and ACFP! If you haven’t had the chance to see bargaining with your own eyes, we welcome you to join us at one of our upcoming sessions! Space is sometimes limited due to the available room sizes, and you will be called back in the order that your submission is received.

Sign up for one of our upcoming WSNA Steward trainings!

WSNA Union Steward is a title for a knowledgeable volunteer who cares about their co-workers and is a respected and trusted leader on the floor. WSNA RNs know that they can go to their Steward with questions and concerns while at work. Stewards are the constant union presence, ensuring that member rights are respected and that the contract is upheld.

Wear your WSNA Blue every Wednesday!

This shows management we are ALL watching.

Follow our WSNA SCH Instagram account for quick updates and important information regarding negotiations @sch_wsna.

In solidarity,

Your Bargaining Team
Annika Hoogestraat, Kara Yates, Lindsey Kirsch, Sam Forte, Katie Podobnik, Therese Hill, Kelsey Gellner, AJ Nagal, Emma Gordon, Sarah Munro, Cody Ian, Lauren Lustyk, Lori Hall, Regan Halom, Jon McAferty, Anna Marie Fountain and Bree Casas

Questions? Contact your Bargaining Team Members or WSNA Nurse Representative Linda Burbank lburbank@wsna.org