“Hopeful, but the deal isn’t done yet.”

Your Bargaining Team: Alexis Dotts, Glen Steele, Gregg Barney, Heidi Strub, Jamie Fenton, Julianna Van Enk, Kelly Gusman, Kurtis Chaffin, Patricia Brown, Ryan Boyd, Sammy Bainivalu, Teri Kruse, Wanda Rodriguez-Ramos, Yvette Broeckel

Your bargaining team met with management again on July 6 after the employer agreed to add an extra bargaining date to the calendar. 

We are happy to report that some progress was made as the Employer made noticeable movement on wages, reducing the number of people receiving less than a 2.5% wage upon ratification. While this is hopefully movement, their current offer still leaves many members behind with some still receiving less than a 0.50% increase upon ratification. The employer also continues to refuse paying these raises retroactively back to contract expiration (3/01/2021), instead offering a small $200 ratification bonus.

MultiCare also made no movement on our healthcare priorities, only offering to limit premium increases to no more than $40/month each year, which would give the employer the power to raise your rates by up to $120/month by the end of a three-year contract. Members made clear in the bargaining survey that we need to fight to make our healthcare plans affordable and accessible, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. 

They are also holding firm on several management power grabs. One of management's proposals is the addition of language that would allow them to implement new incentive pay programs without having to bargain with the Union. While incentive pay plans are a great tool to deal with staffing issues, we have rights as Union members to have a say in how they are implemented.

For example, a few months ago it came to the Union’s attention that MultiCare had implemented an incentive pay plan for RN’s that was ripe with issues. It was so bad that some members were reporting that extra shifts were being awarded unfairly to management’s friends via Facebook Messenger rather than through official channels. The Union demanded to bargain, and we eventually reached an agreement with management that ensured extra shifts were being fairly awarded to all eligible nurses along with other fixes to the plans many issues. Management wants to strip away your power to have a say in these decisions, a core Union right, which is unacceptable.

Your Bargaining Team shared these concerns with the community during our Rally @the Park. We’d like to thank our community partners who showed up to support MultiCare Workers: Fuse Washington, Asian Pacific Labor Alliance, Union of American Physician and Dentists, UFCW Local 367, Tacoma Ministerial Alliance, and Catherine Ushka from the Tacoma City Council. They all asked – when is your picket? We will be there! 

“You all have been essential workers through all of this. You are the folks who have gotten us to where we are today and you deserve to be paid for that work that you have done, you deserve to have healthcare benefits yourself. And I sure hope the negotiation your involved in will make that happen.” 

– Laurie Jinkins, Washington State Speaker of the House

TOP PHOTO: David Barnes (Negotiator), Heidi Strub (Respiratory Therapist), Laurie Jinkins (Speaker of the House), Gregg Barney (Sr. Press Operator), Alexis Dotts (Nutritional Assistant)

BOTTOM PHOTO: Pastor Gregory Christopher, Shiloh Baptist Church

Upcoming Events:

Contract Action Team Meeting
Thursday, July 22 • 6:30PM 
Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.
https://zoom.us/join

Informational Picket!!
Friday, August 6 • 3:00PM – 5:00PM
Tacoma General Hospital