Bargaining Team: Pharmacist Brent Kirshenbaum, Social Worker Brittany Owen, and Mental Health Technician Ramona Strassburg (stand-in)

“I am excited about being a part of the bargaining process and to advocate for my fellow healthcare professionals.”
—Brittany Owen, Social Worker  

Your Union Bargaining Team has met with MultiCare a few times and exchanged proposals. Through their commitment to the process and advocacy for their coworkers, we have made some progress.

Contract language that has been tentatively agreed to include:

• Status Review: a process for part-time employees to have a review of their FTE if continuously working over their assigned FTE.

• Evaluations: requiring the employer to maintain a system which provides for employee evaluations on a probationary and annual basis.

• Recall: a process the employer must follow to reinstate any employee who has been laid off.

• Nondiscrimination: the absence or avoidance of discrimination, officially affirming a federal government policy of nondiscrimination in employment.

Important proposals we are still working on are:

• Staffing: working to address critical issues related to staffing levels, workload, and patient care.

• Floating: establishing fair guidelines and restrictions for floating to other facilities.

• Preceptor: clarifying the role and responsibilities of preceptors within our workplace along with a market competitive premium.

• Labor Management Committee: establishing a committee to give workers a voice after contract negotiations are over.

Our Bargaining Team is working on other issues and will continue to focus on the above issues as we reserve most economic proposals for later in the process. Other bargaining dates that have been confirmed include November 2 and 9; we will be requesting additional future bargaining dates from Management.

Throughout this negotiation process, we are committed to keeping you informed and engaged. We will schedule regular bargaining update meetings and disseminate important communications through multiple channels, including text and email.

Your engagement and involvement in this process are vital. Staying informed and standing together as a union demonstrates your collective strength. It’s important to remember that your unified efforts and voices have the power to shape the future of MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.

If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to discuss the negotiations further, please do not hesitate to reach out to your dedicated Union Representative Ian Jacobson at 206-436-6550.