“Management claims they want top of the market wages, however, the numbers do not match up with what they’ve proposed.”

- Kellie Koening, Ultrasound Tech

Our Bargaining Team met with Seattle Children's Management again on February 22 to continue negotiations for our next contract. While some progress wage made, we are still far apart and many issues, especially on wages.

During this session, the Employer presented an economic counteroffer than made negligible movement from their prior proposal. Management stated that they aim to have top of the market wages at Seattle Children’s, however, we do not believe their wage proposal achieves what they claim. This is especially true when considering that Swedish Medical Center, one of our largest competitors for labor, will receive additional wage increases in the coming months and will also be re-negotiating their union contract next year.

We are also disappointed that Management continues to reject our proposal to increase the Per Diem differential from 12% to 15%, which has become a market standard for Per Diems. As for the other differentials, not only has Management made very little movement on their proposal, but they admitted during our last session that they don’t believe that Employees at Seattle Children’s should be earning top of the market differentials and premiums.

Our Bargaining Team has built an economic proposal that would ensure that Seattle Children's remains competitive for the entire duration of our three-year contract. We believe that Management’s proposal fails to account for future wage increases in the market, setting Seattle Children’s up for more difficulties recruiting and retaining staff shortly after we ratify a contract.

In an attempt to distract you, Management sent out a communication last week regarding the contractually required process of the Employer sending Employee rosters to the Union, including social security numbers. This is a common practice that provides a unique identifier that enables easy identification of Employees, which helps avoid mistakes on union dues and other aspects of membership. In fact, the Employer has agreed to send social security numbers to the Union since at least 2004 without issue.

This is particularly helpful with new hires who may have come from another UFCW represented worksite and, therefore, can move their membership profile from their old Employer and avoid initiation fees. Accordingly, the Union has proposed that the Employer only send the full social security numbers of new hires and then only the last four digits going forward. As we await the Employer’s response to our proposal, remember that the Employer is using this tactic to distract you from the important issues such as your benefits, wages, and equity in the workplace.

While we hope to reach an agreement soon, we cannot accept a deal that fails to address our concerns, nor one that fails to ensure that our wages will be market competitive for duration of our contract. Our Bargaining Team is scheduled to with Management again on March 4 and 16.

Join your coworkers and hear from our Bargaining Team about negotiations!
Thursday, March 3
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Rep for Zoom details. Details will also be sent to your email.