Our Union Bargaining Team: Lindsey Gearllach (Obs), Meredith Francisco (Med Surg), Amanda Lancheros (ER), Kim Fraser (Pre-Op), Janice Brown (FBC). Not Pictured: Tammy Olson (ICU).

“Our fight three years ago showed our strength. This time, we’re pushing even further—to secure the competitive pay, stronger staffing language, and a safer working environment for nurses and patients alike.” —Meredith Francisco

Our Union Negotiating Committee held its first bargaining session with St. Michael Medical Center management on March 6. In preparation, our team spent several days analyzing bargaining surveys, reviewing regional union contracts, and thoroughly assessing our current contract for areas needing improvement.

We arrived well-prepared with a comprehensive non-economic proposal, which included (but not limited to):

Union Orientation: New language allowing our Union Representative to set up a table outside HR when new hires complete orientation paperwork.
Workplace Safety: A detailed two-page proposal addressing workplace violence, including safety measures such as ED metal detectors, personal safety devices for rapid security response, and much more.
Charge Nurse: Proposed that charge nurses will not be assigned patient care responsibilities.
Preceptor Pay: Expanded eligibility for preceptor pay to include teaching LPNs, all nursing students, nurses transferring into new clinical areas, and nurses in orientation.
Low Census: Revised the low census process to ensure that travelers are always cut first, regardless of their contractual maximum.

Following our initial proposal, our Negotiating Committee began drafting our economic proposal, which will address wages, premiums, PTO, holidays, and staffing. We plan to present these proposals at our upcoming bargaining sessions.

Our next bargaining dates are scheduled for March 27 and April 3. In the meantime, we encourage all nurses to attend our first Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting on March 26, where our Negotiating Committee will provide a more in-depth bargaining update and discuss the actions we can take to win a fair contract.