PRMCE RN Bargaining Begins!

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Our first day of bargaining was well planned and moved quickly. Our Bargaining Team shared hopes for this negotiation, including finding solutions for staffing and retention and having a respectful and timely process to reach an agreement that addresses the priorities of the nurses. Having multiple days scheduled in the future will allow us to work towards our priorities and get an understanding early in the process of what actions we may need to take.

”We met with Management for our first bargaining session. The time we spent preparing prior to bargaining allowed us to be ready to meet and present early. We made initial proposals which included union security, union access to nurse lounges, paid time for stewards to represent their coworkers in investigatory meetings, defining the role of break relief nurses, strengthening the definition of precepting, shortening the probation time for introductory nurses, severance pay for layoffs, improvements to bereavement leave, and more. Our team also reviewed all open grievances and proposed potential remedies. We are working on dates for April, but have multiple sessions scheduled for May 5-7 and June 9-11” - Our Union Bargaining Team: First Row: Terry Pierce, Stephaine Sausman, Kristen Crowder, and Kimball Conlon; Second Row: Scott Ryan, Juan Stout, Amanda Chinnick, Carrie Rimel, and Tulena Lammers

Building our Contract Action Team

Every CAT meeting we will be working together to update each other on bargaining, educating on topics that are being addressed through bargaining, and planning next steps in the campaign. To win a strong contract and mobilize quickly, we will need to solidify who is on the CAT team in each unit and build a communication structure that can inform and listen to our coworkers and mobilize.
What does it mean to be on CAT team?

  • Helping disseminate information to your unit

  • Rally the troops to take actions

  • Being a respected voice for your coworkers- build solidarity, find solutions

  • Bringing back feedback and questions to bargaining team

Join the next Contract Action Team Meeting Tuesday March 17 from 8pm – 9pm on Zoom >>

Password: union

Fighting to Resolve Grievances

Since ratifying our 2024 contract, nurses have raised serious concerns about how PRMCE is implementing the agreement. The Union has filed several unit-wide grievances, many of which are now at the final step of the grievance process: arbitration. We raised these issues with PRMCE in our first bargaining session, but the hospital continues to refuse to resolve them.

  • Missed or Late Rest Breaks
    Labor & Industries (L&I) guidance states nurses should receive 10 minutes of pay when a rest break is missed or late. PRMCE has rejected this remedy and says they disagree with L&I’s guidance. While we continue pursuing this grievance, we encourage all nurses to file complaints with L&I and pursuing all legal avenues: Use this link to file a complaint with L&I >>

  • Cancelling Incentive Shifts
    PRMCE has been canceling incentive shifts before other nurses, which we believe violates Article 8.8. of our contract and Management refuses to settle, so we will be resolving this issue via arbitration.

  • Incorrect Staffing Matrix
    PRMCE posted incorrect staffing matrices on acute care units, resulting in nurses being improperly low-censused. We have demanded nurses be made whole. PRMCE is reviewing our remedy.  

  • Staffing Spot Bonus
    PRMCE is applying the short staffing bonus incorrectly by only checking staffing levels three times per day. This ignores real understaffing and undermines the agreement nurses fought for. PRMCE is reviewing our remedy to make nurses whole.

We will continue enforcing our contract and moving these grievances forward via arbitration or at the bargaining table.

TAKE ACTION:

  • Every Tuesday and Thursday are Union Solidarity Days- Wear Yellow and Blue! You have the right to wear your Union bandana, swag, and colors- let’s get creative and have fun with it.

  • File L&I for missed meal breaks, Use this link to file a complaint with L&I >>

Questions or to find out how you can get involved, contact a member of the Bargaining Team or Union Rep Anthony Cantu, 206-436-6566.