Ashley House - Bargaining Update

Our bargaining team welcomes Janet Neice from Ashley House Country Home in Woodinville!

We continue to meet and negotiate over working conditions as well as hours of work, overtime, standby, pay for meetings and trainings, meal and rest breaks, seniority and scheduling practices.

We are looking forward to bargaining over wages, premiums, benefits, PTO and EIT, and other economics during upcoming bargaining sessions, scheduled for October 23 and 24.

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For additional information reach out to bargaining team members:

• Janet Neice, Woodinville
• Cindy Jones, Browns Point
• Donna Iverson, Olympia

OR

Charlie King, Union Representative: (360) 409-0606

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

Jefferson Healthcare - Bargaining Update

On October 3, we held our second bargaining session with Jefferson Healthcare management. The Hospital provided responses to some of our proposals, specifically on non-discrimination language and payroll errors. We’re making steady progress in these areas and expect to reach an agreement on these articles soon.

During this session, we also introduced new staffing language. In 2023, UFCW 3000, WSNA, and SEIU 1199NW worked together to improve staffing conditions for healthcare workers across Washington. Part of the new staffing law SB 5236 requires hospitals to have a staffing committee that meets quarterly. This committee, which includes nurses and support staff, plays a critical role in creating staffing plans and finding solutions to staffing challenges.

Our staffing proposal strengthens these responsibilities by including them in our contract. This ensures that nurses can address any violations of the staffing committee’s operations through the grievance process. The proposal also sets a clear framework for how acute and chronic staffing issues should be managed, including a mediation process to resolve staffing concerns.

While wages and benefits are vital to recruiting and retaining staff, the proposed staffing language acts as a safeguard, giving nurses and caregivers on the Hospital Staffing Committee real power and a strong voice in addressing staffing issues. The Hospital is currently reviewing this proposal.

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for October 7. By the end of the month, we plan to begin discussions on compensation, health insurance, and pension.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Ryan Degouveia. Don’t forget that you can still submit your bargaining survey and your Sound Health and Wellness feedback survey.

We will be holding another contract update/contract action meeting soon!

Providence Centralia Service - WAGES Were The Topic! Bargaining Update

On September 30, 2024, we had our third bargaining session with Providence. We talked about wages and year-for-year experience that will help us to retain and recruit top talent. We continue to talk about other issues with an open dialogue. These bargaining sessions are moving quickly, and we are optimistic about the outcome.
 
“We are happy with the tone of our employer, who has shown us thoughtfulness with their proposal and seeing the needs of our bargaining unit. Join us in wearing your Union stickers and colors to show solidarity!”

— Your Bargaining Team: Dorys Sanders, Steven Tifft, Candice Hubbard, Brionna Stone, and Kim Jorgenson

One of the most powerful tools we have is to share our stories. If there is an issue you care deeply about or would like to have addressed at bargaining, please think about how you have been impacted and reach out to a member of the bargaining team or Union Representative Ryan DeGouveia at (360) 662-1982