Stronger Pay. Safer Staffing. Protected Breaks.

Our Union Bargaining Team (L-R): Mary Bloomberg, Surgical Acute RN; Jacob Kostecka, PACU RN; Darlett Holm, SADU West RN; Mike Staley, SADU RN; Ashley McBride, L&D RN; Julia Douglas, Sepsis RN; Grace Kraege, ED RN; Kelly Williams, Inpatient Psychiatry RN; Melanie Oakes, ED RN; Andy Dusablon, PACU RN; Haley Sweet, Neurology RN.

On Tuesday, April 29, our RN bargaining team met with Providence St. Peter Hospital management for our third session in this 2025 contract cycle.

We presented two major economic proposals today: a revised wage scale, and a comprehensive staffing article—both crafted to raise standards at PSPH and recognize the skill, experience, and dedication of our nurses.

Wage Scale Proposal
We proposed a significant update to our wage structure by:

Condensing the wage scale to 25 steps (down from the current 37).

Eliminating “ghost steps”—steps where nurses receive no increase despite gaining a year of experience.

Introducing an annual “Legacy Bonus” for nurses at the top of the scale, recognizing continued longevity and professional growth.

These changes aim to make PSPH wages more competitive than most hospitals in our region, especially in Pierce and King Counties.

We also proposed stronger experience credit language to ensure:

Nurses are placed accurately on the scale based on all prior experience—including LPN service and specialty areas like palliative care, case management, and wound/ostomy care.

Experience is credited more favorably than current practice, including rounding up five or more months to a full year.

Staffing Proposal
Our team also introduced an entirely new article focused on safe staffing, including:

Minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit, with strong enforcement provisions:

Premium pay for nurses required to work above those ratios.

Patient fee reductions on understaffed units—so Providence feels pressure from more than just staff.

We also proposed:

An Emergency Department contingency staffing plan for times of high census & ED waiting room overcrowding.

A requirement for dedicated break/relief nurses, assigned to ensure uninterrupted meal and rest breaks across the hospital.

Meal & Rest Break Protections
We further proposed updates to the meal and rest period language in our contract- to align more closely with Washington state law- and strengthen protections for PSPH nurses. One key addition clarifies that if a nurse is unable to notify a charge nurse or core leader about a missed break due to urgent patient care needs, this shall not be grounds for discipline or corrective action. Nurses shouldn’t be penalized for putting patient safety first!

“I am so excited about the proposals we put forward to management- and I’m proud that we considered our coworkers and patients in the ED to the extent that we did. This is what we’re here for.” -Mel Oakes, ED RN