MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RNs - Case Manager Accretion - Tentative Agreement Reached! Contract Vote Scheduled

Following eleven bargaining dates over the course of nearly six months, our Case Manager RN bargaining team at Auburn Medical Center are overjoyed to announce that we have reached a fully recommended tentative agreement outlining our proposed entry into the RN union contract.

At our last scheduled session on January 22, we met MultiCare at the table, and proudly announced that we’d secured a supermajority of strike pledge card signatures in our unit. Pairing this with discussions around our continued priorities in these negotiations—MultiCare requested an emergency bargaining session on Monday, January 27 to get back to the table as soon as possible and continue working towards a deal.

Considering the many challenges we’ve faced throughout bargaining, our solidarity and resolve have led to what we strongly believe is a groundbreaking agreement for Case Manager RNs at Auburn Medical Center, including:

• Experience credit towards placement on the RN wage scale

• Access to premiums, differentials, daily overtime, and all of the union protections contained in the RN contract

• Protections around Case Manager RNs floating into other clinical areas of the hospital

• A specific wage differential for Senior Case Manager RNs

RATIFICATION BONUS!

To read the full agreement and cast your ballot, we encourage all newly-organized Case Manager RNs to drop-by our vote meetings!

Monday, February 10
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center
Cascade Training Room

• 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM

• 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Your AMC Bargaining Team: Sarah Murry, RN; Amber Hamilton, Case Manager RN; Nicole Joseph, Case Manager RN; Cory Larsen, RN; Nick White, RN; Mary Lou Gustafson, RN.

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RNs - Tentative Agreement Reached! Contract Vote Scheduled

Following our bargaining date on Wednesday, January 22, and our announcement to MultiCare that the RNs at Auburn Medical Center had reached a majority of Strike Pledge Card signatures in less than a week’s time—management requested that we meet again at the table as soon as possible to continue negotiations on our successor bargaining agreement.

Our team recognized that this was an extremely important moment in our ongoing fight for a strong contract—in the sense that nurses were standing up and ready to take action, and that we may finally have MultiCare’s full attention.

As a result of this momentum, our union bargaining team are proud to announce that we have secured a fully recommended tentative agreement on our new contract, which includes highlights such as:

• An all-new wage scale that places AMC RNs pay above many of our top competitors at nearly all steps

• Increased Continuing Education funds

• Ratification bonus as well as bonuses for our coworkers at the top of the wage scale each year of the contract!

• ALL NEW safe staffing language, including a premium for RNs who care for a higher number of patients than the state-submitted staffing plan outlines!

To read the full agreement and check-out all of the additional wins we secured, we encourage all AMC Nurses in good standing to drop-by our vote meetings and cast your ballot.

Tuesday, February 11
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center
MOB Classroom (1st Floor)

• 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM

• 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

• 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

“These negotiations have been incredibly challenging- but our bargaining team heard you all, and continued to listen throughout this process. The power that we’ve built together resulted in a contract that we’re confident will really start to fix the many issues RNs at AMC have faced, and keep AMC safe for patients and for nurses.”
—Cory Larsen, RN @ AMC

Your AMC bargaining team (L-R): Sarah Murry, RN; Amber Hamilton, Case Manager RN; Nicole Joseph, Case Manager RN; Cory Larsen, RN; Nick White, RN; Mary Lou Gustafson, RN.  

MultiCare Auburn MC RN & Case Manager RN Accretion Bargaining Update—Sending A Message

On Wednesday, January 22, our Auburn Medical Center RN & Case Manager RN bargaining team met with MultiCare for our tenth bargaining session of this contract cycle.

During this session, we felt a significant shift in the balance of power. The energy and solidarity from our well-attended Informational Picket just days prior were still palpable. When we met with MultiCare in the afternoon to present our counter proposals- we also shared that in just six days' time more than 180 nurses had signed our strike pledge...

52%!

This turnout is nothing short of extraordinary, and even at the time this update is being written, that number continues to grow.

Sharing this with MultiCare sent a powerful message: Auburn Medical Center nurses are fed up, and ready to take action. For far too long, our concerns have been ignored, dismissed, or brushed aside- and paired with five months of rejected proposals aimed at addressing the severe staffing shortages and improving recruitment and retention- we are demanding the respect and attention we deserve.

In response to our renewed strength and resolve, management responded with urgency, and requested that we schedule additional bargaining sessions as soon as available. Our bargaining team agree that this next session will determine our path forward. We are hopeful that MultiCare show up ready to work, and ready to bargain in good faith to get RNs and RN Case Managers at AMC the fair contract we deserve.

STRIKE PLEDGE CARD
If you have not yet signed our strike pledge, please do so through here! >>

Update Your Information >>  

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RN & RN Case Managers Bargaining Update - THINGS ARE HEATING UP!

Our bargaining team for Auburn Medical Center RNs and RN Case Managers met with MultiCare on Thursday, January 2, marking the eighth day of negotiations this cycle.

Following our previous session with management on December 11, and a highly attended Contract Action Team meeting on December 16, our team was empowered and eager to continue pushing for a strong contract that reflects the hard work and dedication of Auburn Medical Center nurses.

After much anticipation spent awaiting management’s responses, our team was presented with an economic offer from MultiCare that we feel continues to undervalue our nurses by raising their previous proposal by a mere half of one percent—bringing the new total to 7.50%.

Even more concerning, MultiCare’s proposals for across-the-board wage increases in Years 2 and 3 of our contract (3.00% and 2.75%, respectively) are not only well below current market standards but could further widen the gap between the wages of Auburn Medical Center nurses and those at competing King County hospitals.

Another major point of frustration is MultiCare’s continued rejection of our proposal for a Staffing Premium—contract language that mirrors agreements in place at two other MultiCare hospitals. Despite extensive discussion, MultiCare claims they are “unsure how to implement and track” the premium at Auburn Medical Center... puzzling, considering they have successfully implemented similar provisions at their other worksites.

Overall, we feel MultiCare is not acknowledging the realities of the nursing wage market in King County. As a result, we spent the rest of the day on January 2 planning the next steps to stand together and demand change, including holding an Informational Picket at the Medical Center.

If MultiCare doesn’t see our value, then we will make sure they see OUR SOLIDARITY!
 

INFORMATIONAL PICKET:

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center
Thursday, January 16, 2025
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

RSVP Here >>

& Join our Picket-Making-Party on January 13 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM:

UFCW 3000 Office
23040 Pacific Highway South, Des Moines, WA 98198
 

PRE-BARGAINING DROP IN MEETINGS:

Join us for a 30-minute drop-in meeting before each day of negotiations from 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM

Click Here to Join >>
 

NOT GETTING OUR EMAILS?

Update your contact information now to stay up to date!

Update Your Information >>
 
Your Bargaining Team:

• Nick White, RN

• Nicole Joseph, Case Manager RN

• Sandy Hegg, Case Manager RN

• Cory Larsen, RN

• Sarah Murry, RN

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RNs & Case Manager RNs - STAND BY FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION...

Our Auburn Medical Center Registered Nurses & Case Manager Registered Nurses bargaining team met with MultiCare on Wednesday the 11th for our seventh bargaining session this cycle- and after receiving management's responses in the morning, we knew we would likely have little to positively report about how bargaining is progressing...

With regard to the Case Managers entering the RN contract, management let us know that they would not have a response ready for us—despite having our most recent proposal in their court since November 21.

And in terms of the RN contract, MultiCare provided us with a wage proposal of 7.00% in the first year, which would result in our wages at AMC being equal to those at MultiCare Tacoma General and Good Samaritan in Pierce County... wages that these RNs negotiated around two years ago! Not to mention management further contextualized the proposal by stating that although they're not officially at their last and final wage offer- they are "getting close."

While our team hoped to be patient with MultiCare and lift AMC RN's wages to be competitive in the King County market—we're not sure we have the patience to wait for MultiCare's proposals to catch up to 2024.

"We need solidarity now, and in numbers..."

—Nick White, MedSurg ICU RN

Your Bargaining Team:
Nick White, RN; Sarah Murry, RN; Cory Larsen, RN
Amber Hamilton, Case Manager RN; Nicole Joseph, Case Manager RN

Join our CONTRACT ACTION TEAM Meeting on December 16 by RSVPing Here! >>  

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center Professionals - FIRST CONTRACT RATIFIED!

On Tuesday, December 10, following a series of well-attended vote meetings, our MultiCare AMC Professionals bargaining team are overjoyed to announce that our first ever union contract has been ratified!

This journey started before negotiations, and before winning our union election in the summer of 2023; through perseverance, dedication, and solidarity, we have transformed MultiCare Auburn Medical Center and are now proudly UNION REPRESENTED PROFESSIONALS!

So what are the next steps?

While we are awaiting the roll-out of our experience-audit forms from MultiCare, the Employer and our Union will review and format the new contract. Once finalized, it will be made available online & distributed throughout the hospital.

In the meantime, you can view vote materials on UFCW 3000's website:

View Contract Materials >>

Reach out to our Union Representative Ian Jacobson if you have questions about the contract, wages, or need union representation!  

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RN & Case Manager RN Accretion - BARGAINING UPDATE - November 13, 2024

On Wednesday, November 13 our Auburn Medical Center RN and Case Manager RN bargaining team met with MultiCare to continue negotiations on our contracts at our fifth session with management.

After three sessions without a response to our initial proposal to welcome the Case Manager RNs into our union, we were excited to see that at our previous session management came prepared with a proposal on their placement on a wage scale & how years of nursing experience would factor into their union rates of pay.

However, management's proposal introduced some new challenges—for instance, the proposed Case Manager wage scales they presented differed from the wage scale in the main union contract; and although the wage scale for Case Managers appeared higher than that in the nursing contract, management later clarified that this is because Case Manager RN's years of clinical nursing experience are not counted one-for-one when figuring out where we would be placed on the wage scale. Additionally, MultiCare proposed a new set of premiums specific to Case Managers, such as shift differentials and a weekend premium, but at rates lower than those in the nursing contract. We ultimately felt that these differing wage rates, premiums, and experience calculations were designed to create a division between Case Managers and the rest of the RN unit. In response, we presented counterproposals in the afternoon that would align Case Manager compensation with the main nursing contract—ensuring that experience is recognized consistently, that wages are aligned more with the RN wage scale, and also rejected the proposed lower premium rates.

"Despite what we feel are efforts to divide us, we feel more united than ever before!"

—Nicole Geff; Case Manager RN

Meanwhile for the RN contract, we also began our morning reviewing the latest set of proposals from management at our previous session. We are glad that in some areas of the contract we are making progress on getting to a final agreement with the employer, however many our highest priorities remain on the bargaining table as open issues for continued negotiation:

SAFETY:

• Maintaining free on-site parking, and working to secure language around transportation safety for nurses who have vehicles broken-into or damaged in the on-site garage.

STAFFING:

• Updating our contract language to reflect the new hospital staffing law in Washington State, and pushing for additional compensation for nurses who care for additional patients above what the hospital staffing plan permits.

WAGES:

• After receiving management's initial wage proposal at our last session—we were disappointed to see that their offer only provided a three percent (3%) increase in the first year of our 2024 contract—which doesn't even compete with the wages that nurses are earning in a number of Pierce County MultiCare hospitals.

We know that it would take more than twice that percentage—around 7.00%—to get us up to market with many other MultiCare nurses—so we hope management come to our next bargaining date on November 21 with a serious proposal that pays nurses at Auburn Medical Center for the lifesaving care we provide every day.

"Hopefully MultiCare find the rest of the budget for their next wage proposal!"

—Cory Larsen; RN

CONTRACT ACTION MEETING

To learn more about our ongoing negotiations, and to team up with our union siblings in the Service Unit with SEIU, join your bargaining team for a UNITY BREAK:

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center Cafeteria
Wednesday, December 11
7:30AM – 8:30AM

 

Multicare Women's Center Clinics - Pre-Bargaining Update

On the morning of November 20, our Women's Center Clinics bargaining team met to finalize proposals to kick-off negotiations with MultiCare. Now that we have won our union election, we are eager to enter the existing Clinics Collective Bargaining Agreement with UFCW Local 3000!

In order to prepare, we spent time reviewing wages, PTO, and a number of the articles in the existing contract to make sure that we are coming to our first day of negotiations with MultiCare stronger than ever. The terms of our bargain will mainly focus on how we are compensated on the union pay scales, and how the existing provisions of the union contract will impact our wages, hours, and working conditions.

After our review of the existing contract- and making sure our specific proposals matched the work we do at the Women's Center clinics- we provided availability to management through January 2025. We look forward to hearing back & getting to the bargaining table to fully realize our position as union members!

Once dates are set, we will continue to keep our coworkers in the loop throughout the process with bargaining updates after each session with the Employer.

"We're looking forward to moving forward! We feel stronger than ever before after seeing how high our unit's support for unionizing was. I think we're just feeling energized by the position we're in!"

—Liam Hughes, Medical Assistant @ Women's Center Sunrise; Carol Krings, Medical Receptionist @ Women's Center Puyallup

Multicare Capital Medical Center Service/Office/Technical - Bargaining Update!

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Wednesday, October 2 marks our fourth bargaining date with MultiCare since we began negotiations for a 2024 contract for the Service, Office, & Technical union members at Capital Medical Center.

Transparently, our day began a bit slow in terms of meeting with management, with our Union team providing MultiCare with any remaining contract proposals we had in our court in the morning, and then waiting until just before the end of our scheduled time to receive proposals back from management.

Upon hearing back from management later that afternoon, we were presented with a number of responses on a few of the contract articles we’ve been exchanging back and forth with the employer; most importantly, wages.

Overall, it’s fair to say that we were shocked by MultiCare’s initial offer, not because it undercut our value and ignored regional competitors’ wage rates (as one can typically expect from an Employer’s first wage counter...), but instead, their proposal seemed to consider the rates of pay that competitors are paying in the greater South-Puget-Sound region, as well as the significant increases MultiCare workers in Pierce and King County won in union negotiations earlier this year.

There are varying increases throughout the numerous job classifications—mainly due to the varying market fluctuations for those classifications—but our bargaining team can say that while the wage proposal we received from Capital is not quite ready for us to agree to yet, it will serve to move market-based wage discussions much faster than we have seen at other bargaining tables!

We are looking forward to meeting with MultiCare for our next session on October 10 to continue working towards a strong contract for Capital Medical Center employees!

“We’re not all the way there yet, but we are cautiously optimistic!”
—Julie Hinchcliffe, HUC/Monitor Tech @ CapMC

Your Bargaining Team: Julie Hinchcliffe, HUC/Monitor Tech; Beatrix Sales, CS Tech; Lindsey Moorhead, Cath Lab Tech