Sip n Chat

Thank you to everyone who attended our Sip n Chat last week!  We provided some updates, heard about what’s happening around the hospital and answered questions.  Watch for the next date to be announced soon! We want to see you there!

Grievances

Unfortunately, we have many grievances right now. We are disappointed that the hospital is not following some of the new contract language we recently bargained.  Here is an update on some of the grievances:

• Per Diem insurance – BIG WIN! – Per diems who work an average of 30+ hours/wk over the year are eligible (per the ACA) for health insurance benefits. For years, the hospital has offered all the plans to per diems and their family members. This year however, the hospital unilaterally decided to only offer them the high deductible “minimum value” plan and excluded spouses from coverage. WSNA was able to settle this grievance and all of the eligible per diems were able to reenroll in the plan of their choice!!  The nurses were also able to enroll spouses if desired.
• Code-responder pay – Our new contract includes a premium for mandatory code-responders. The hospital is refusing to pay some of these responders. This grievance is at step 3.
• Staffing – the hospital has once again made some unilateral changes to staffing and also continues to not follow the staffing plan. This grievance is now pending arbitration.
• Charge nurses taking patients – We have two grievances related to this new contract language. First, the hospital is assigning patients to charge nurses when conditions do not exist that permit this to happen. Also, the hospital recently rejected the Staffing Committee staffing plan and instead adopted the 2022 plan which identifies that charge nurses can have a patient assignment. One would think the hospital would just amend the plan but are refusing to do so. These two grievances are now pending arbitration.
• Canceling vacation time – Some nurses who have requested to cancel their vacation time prior to the schedule being published are denied the ability to do so while some are allowed.  This grievance is now pending arbitration.
• OR “Bubble List” – Management expects nurses who rise to the top of this list at some unknown and unscheduled time, to be available for some uncertain period of time. These nurses are not pre-scheduled, and they are not being paid on-call time -both required by the contract.  This grievance is now pending arbitration.
• J5 – Mandatory overtime and shift rotation. J5 nurses have been experiencing mandatory overtime. This grievance is pending arbitration but, in the meantime, the hospital, to fix this, implemented an evening shift. Instead of hiring into that shift, the hospital implemented a shift rotation for all nurses and did so in a way that is in violation of the contract. WSNA is currently reviewing this grievance for arbitration.

Staffing

Thank you to our staffing committee for their hard work on the staffing committee. They review the ADOs you submit and also develop the staffing plan each year. For 2024, for at least the 3^rd year in a row, the hospital rejected the hard work and recommendations of the committee. The committee is made up of your peers who are at the bedside as well as managers and directors. The committee invited the VM President, Monica Hilt, to come address the committee to explain her rationale for the rejection of the plan and to dialogue with the committee but unfortunately, she did not even bother respond to the letter the WSNA committee members sent.

Please continue to fill out the ADO forms. Those are critical for the committee’s work.

New workplace violence committee

The new WPV committee met for the first time. We reviewed two different types of metal detectors that were going to be trialed in the ED.  Work is underway to have visitors and others check in and receive a name tag when entering the facility. We also discussed efforts to limit the entrances that are open at any given time in an effort to increase safety in the facility.  We meet again in May. If you would like to join this committee, please let us know! The group meets virtually once each quarter and it is paid time.

Where is the contract?

The contract is still being reviewed by the parties. We apologize for any inconvenience this is causing. We want to get the contract published as quickly as possible and that should be happening very soon. In the meantime, the contract IS IN EFFECT!  If you have questions about certain topics, please contact one of your officers or your nurse rep Sara Frey sfrey@wsna.org

Bargaining

We are currently bargaining two MOUs. The first MOU has to do with the new staffing law. The second is related to VM’s desire to go to a minute-by-minute timekeeping system. WSNA has concerns around incidental over and under time if people can’t clock in or out exactly at the right time.  We are waiting for management to respond to both.

Know your rights!

You have rights when it comes to investigatory meetings. An investigatory meeting is a meeting where management investigates something that happened such as; tardiness, a patient event, a patient complaint, an error, concerns about communication with a peer, etc. and this investigation COULD possibly lead to future discipline. Here are a couple of things to be aware of:

• You have the right to have a WSNA representative with you.
• Be wary of phone calls from your manager where you are being asked about something that occurred at work – you have the right to a representative if it is an investigatory meeting which could lead to discipline.
• Be wary of emails that ask, “what happened?”  You have the right to a WSNA rep if it is an investigatory inquiry.
• Be wary of your manager trying dissuade you from exercising your union rights!

If you are asked to speak (or email) with your manager about a situation, be sure to ask, “is this an investigatory meeting that could lead to discipline.” If your manager says, “no I’m not disciplining you,” you should clarify – “Could what I say lead to future discipline?”  If the answer is yes, let your manager know you would like a WSNA rep and contact one of your officers or your nurse rep to arrange for representation.  If you have already spoken with a manager and are asked to sign a document, please contact your nurse representative to discuss.

Your officer team –

Chair - Hannah Collins-Lewis
Vice Chair - Michael Salters
Secretary - Kimberly Travis-Carter
Treasurer - Samuel Asencio
Grievance Officer - Donna Watts
Grievance Officer - Aaron Persinger
Grievance Officer - Kim Adekoya
Grievance Officer - Art Laycock

Questions? Please contact one of your local unit officers or nurse rep, Sara Frey, sfrey@wsna.org.