Bargaining Update #12: Info Picket Dates, Yesterday's Bargaining Session, and Meal Break Waiver Details

Mark Your Calendars: We're Picketing on Friday, 10/30! 

WSNA nurses, did you see the news? At the end of our session yesterday, we officially notified Virginia Mason that we plan to picket outside the hospital on October 30th. That means it's time to take our fight to the streets! 

Read on for the details, and join us at our weekly bargaining updates TONIGHT at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. for all the info you'll need over the coming weeks!

Weekly Update Meetings
Bargaining Session #12: The Ball is in Management's Court

At Tuesday's session, your bargaining team worked through management's infuriating September 30 proposal to figure out whether there was anything we could work with to get closer to a deal we could confidently recommend to our coworkers.

Long story short: there wasn't much to like in there. Though they backed away from some of their proposed takeaways like changes to our low census order and elimination of some of our spot pay and incentive shift MOUs, they hadn't moved an inch on key issues like enforceable staffing standards, just cause protections for per diem nurses, full-time health insurance benefits for 0.75 FTE nurses, or wages that keep pace with what nurses earn at other hospitals in the Seattle market.

We made a comprehensive counterproposal reiterating our commitment to those priorities. Now the ball is in management's court: they'll have to decide whether they'd rather start working with us to reach a deal that puts people over profit or continue to make proposals that prioritize productivity over the community we serve.

Before we wrapped up for the day, we scheduled additional bargaining dates on Tuesday, October 27, and Thursday, October 29, and we agreed to one final contract extension through 11:59 p.m. on the night of 10/29. (Want to join us either day? Click here to RSVP! ) 

If we don't have a deal by the time we wrap up bargaining on the 29th, the contract will expire... and when management looks out the windows on Seneca Street the next morning, they'll see for themselves that we're not the only one demanding they put people over profit.

WSNA Info Picket: Friday, 10/30, from 7-9 am and noon-2 pm! 

It's time to come together and show management that we won't back down when it comes to safe staffing, job protections, health benefits, and fair wages. Join us outside the hospital for an informational picket on Friday, October 30, from 7-9 am and noon-2pm!

Virginia Mason needs to see that it's not just nurses paying attention; our coworkers, our colleagues across the region, and our community  — including our patients, family, and friends — have our backs, because they know fair wages and working conditions are worth fighting for. Bring your kids, family, friends, and pets! And stay tuned for details about sign-making parties and how you can get involved between now and the day of the picket.

REMINDER: We need as many nurses as possible to join us on the picket line. If you haven't signed the picket pledge, this is the time! Now that we've set a date for our info picket, it's time to check your work schedules, mark your calendars, and get in touch with a bargaining team member so you can sign the picket pledge. (Because we've gotten this question from several nurses: We don't deliver these pledges to management — they're a tool that helps us make sure we've reached out to every nurse in the hospital to rally support for our ongoing bargaining and answer your questions before we hit the streets.) 

Meal and Break waivers have been distributed

This past spring, WSNA and VMMC negotiated a new meal and break waiver which was ratified by nurses in May.  This agreement provides more flexibility that many nurses want. It allows for more flexibility of when nurses take their meals and rest breaks and allows for the waiver of some meal periods.  You can waive some or all the options, or you do not have to waive anything. No nurse shall be subjected to intimidation, coercion or restraint with respect to the nurse's decision to sign any waiver or to revoke such waiver.

Once signed, you may revoke your waiver at any time (not retroactively) if you want to change your selections or want to completely revoke what you previously selected. You will need to complete a new waiver if you wish to once again waive any of the options or change them.  The waiver and revocation form should be available on all units.

Meal period waiver - You have the option of waiving your second or third 30 minute meal period (if applicable).  You cannot waive your first 30 minute meal period unless you work less than 8 hours. Most nurses elect to waive their second meal period.

Meal period timing - Without a waiver on meal period timing, you must start your first meal period within the first 2-5 hours of your shift. This waiver of timing allows for your meal periods to occur between the 3rd and second-to-last hour of your shift. You can also waive timing on subsequent meal periods if you elect to take them.

Rest periods timing - Without a waiver, one 15 minute rest period must occur during every 4-hour block. You may elect to waive timing only on one or more of the rest periods you are entitled to. You cannot waive any of your rest breaks.  Remember, you get one 15 minute rest break for every 4 hours’ worked.

REMEMBER – Meals and rest breaks must be uninterrupted, and you must be completely relieved of duty otherwise, it is missed and you should clock out a missed break or meal.  Even if you waive timing, there are still timing requirements, they are just more generous than the default law. If those timing requirements are not met, it is a missed break/meal and should be recorded as missed. 

You can find a link to the agreement and waiver form HERE.

We're all in this together

The work the bargaining team does at the table is fueled by the work nurses do away from the table between negotiation sessions. When nurses get involved in our contract campaign — by observing negotiations, answering surveys about your department's needs, filing ADOs, listening in to our weekly bargaining update meetings, wearing your WSNA t-shirts and ribbons on the floor, reposting @wsna_vmmc on Instagram, or talking to one another about petitions and picket pledges — management sees we won't back down from a fight. Let's keep building power so we return to the table in two weeks stronger than ever. 

In solidarity,

Your WSNA Bargaining Team 

Hannah Collins-Lewis - Progressive Care
Michael Salters - CCU (ICU)
Kim Travis-Carter – ED
Martha Bermeo – Telemetry
Alison Wortman - Jones 5 – Procedural
Heather Schramm - IV Therapy
Haley Sheridan - IV therapy 
Sara McNeil - CCU 

Sara Frey, JD, BSN, RN
Nurse Representative
sfrey@wsna.org