On Thursday, June 13, our Bargaining Team had a bargaining session with WhidbeyHealth.Between our May 23 negotiations and this past Thursday, we have come very close to wrapping up both parties' non-economic proposals.

While we are pleased to have also secured some very good Tentative Agreements on key economic issues that increase shift differentials, certification pay, and weekend premium pay, we have been struggling to come to an agreement with Management on the issue of wage parity, which means placing everyone on the wage scale to properly reflect 100% of their years of experience in their job classification.

The employer has repeatedly proposed that Steps 0-2 would receive parity the first full pay period after the contract is ratified, then Steps 3-9 would be placed at their new Step on their anniversary date of hire in 2025, and the remaining folks would have to wait until their 2026 anniversary date. In the interest of speeding up this process and securing a ratification bonus by delaying the cost of wage parity slightly (but not until 2026!), we counter-proposed with all workers receiving parity in 2025—half in February and half in August. We understand this is a significant cost to the Employer and hoped they would accept a compromise that does not push proper credit for past experience into 2026, but they have not moved from their initial position on this issue.

If you agree with us that our more senior/experienced co-workers should not have to wait for these Step increases until 2026, we will be circulating a petition asking for your support!We need as many represented workers (whether Union members or not) as possible to sign it to show we want this process completed sooner than later!

Our next bargaining session with the Employer is July 11. If you have any questions, you may talk to our Bargaining Team members or call Union Representative Celia Ponce-Sanchez at (360) 419-4678.

“While we are thrilled to have won an increase to certification pay to $1.00 an hour and that Management has now recognized our need for some manner of ratification bonus, we are distressed that some folks who would benefit greatly from wage parity Step increases would have to wait so long under Management’s current proposal!”— Marilyn Faber, Patient Financial Services

Our Bargaining Team: Marilyn Faber, Patient Financial Services; Liz Latiff, Health Unit Coordinator