Member Story: Mary Bridge Nurses Get Paid after Contract Violations

Nicole Geffrey

When paychecks arrived in early September at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Medical-Surgical Nurse Nicole Geffrey noticed something wasn’t right. Looking at the checks, she could tell that nurses at the top of the pay scale hadn’t received the longevity bonuses our union had negotiated into the new contract earlier this year.

Nicole, who has cared for patients at the hospital for nearly 25 years and has served as a UFCW 3000 Shop Steward since 2016, didn’t hesitate to act. She quickly contacted her union representative, and together they made sure the hospital corrected the issue and paid the bonuses on the next paycheck.

“Nurses work hard to care for our patients,” Nicole said. “We deserve to be paid on time and in full.”

After resolving that paycheck issue with those nurses, Nicole talked with a per diem nurse and discovered they hadn’t received their bonuses, either. Once again, she acted quickly to work with her union to make sure every nurse got the money the hospital owed them.

This wasn’t the first time nurses had to speak up about paycheck problems at Mary Bridge. Earlier this year, the hospital also failed to issue more than $10,000 in bonuses owed to the Transport Team nurses, an error Nicole and her union rep successfully pushed to fix as well.

Her message to fellow members is simple: check your check, and speak up.

“It’s important to know your contract and to make sure you’re being paid correctly,” Nicole said. “When we look out for each other, no one gets left behind.”

Mary Bridge nurses can feel in their pocketbooks the value of standing together to hold management accountable, and they continue to show what solidarity looks like in action, enforcing their hard-won contract and making sure every worker gets the pay and respect they deserve.