PRMCE Professionals - Bargaining Update — Wage Scale Overhaul Begins

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On Monday, May 5, our union bargaining team representing the Professionals at Providence Everett returned to the table for our fourth session of contract negotiations with management.

Over the past several weeks, we've laid the foundation for these negotiations by presenting strong non-economic proposals focused on safety, equal opportunity, and critical workplace protections. At our most recent session prior to this one—April 8—we began the shift toward economic issues by introducing proposals related to wage premiums and differentials.

This week, we took a major step forward: our team presented Providence with our initial proposal on compensation and wage scales—a key priority for Professional workers across Providence Everett.

From the early stages of this process—dating back to our contract audit on January 8—it's been clear that our wage scale needs serious improvement, and we identified several high priorities:

  • "Ghost steps": years of service with no pay increase

  • Low progression between steps, often just 1.75% increase for each step

  • Overall wage rates that fall below regional standards for comparable Professional roles—and fail to reflect the value of the skilled, life-saving work we do every day

Taking all of this into consideration, we delivered a comprehensive, forward-thinking proposal designed to correct these inequities, which includes:

  • Clearer standards for recognizing prior relevant experience, ensuring new hires and current employees are fairly placed on the wage scale

  • A restructured wage scale that removes all ghost steps, increases the percentage between steps (so members progress faster), and shortens the overall length of the scale—helping us reach top pay sooner

Management listened to our presentation and took the proposal under review. While they have not yet offered counters, we made it clear that our approach is both transparent and data-driven. We walked through the rationale behind each of our structural changes, because we believe there should be no mystery in our demands: we are calling for fair compensation.

Contract Action Team Meeting

May 14
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Teamsters Local 38 Union Hall

  • 2601 Everett Ave

  • Everett, WA 98201

"We are proud of the work we did to build a strong, evidence-based proposal. We feel like it represents the priorities of our coworkers, and the reality that our pay here is just too low... we're looking forward to keeping up the conversation and ensuring that we earn what we deserve!"

— Taylor Widener, Dietitian

Your bargaining team:

  • Taylor Widener, Senior Dietitian

  • Holly Gramse, Physical Therapist

  • Sara Dillon, Senior Discharge Planner (Case Manager)

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