MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RN & Case Manager RN Accretion - BARGAINING UPDATE - November 13, 2024

On Wednesday, November 13 our Auburn Medical Center RN and Case Manager RN bargaining team met with MultiCare to continue negotiations on our contracts at our fifth session with management.

After three sessions without a response to our initial proposal to welcome the Case Manager RNs into our union, we were excited to see that at our previous session management came prepared with a proposal on their placement on a wage scale & how years of nursing experience would factor into their union rates of pay.

However, management's proposal introduced some new challenges—for instance, the proposed Case Manager wage scales they presented differed from the wage scale in the main union contract; and although the wage scale for Case Managers appeared higher than that in the nursing contract, management later clarified that this is because Case Manager RN's years of clinical nursing experience are not counted one-for-one when figuring out where we would be placed on the wage scale. Additionally, MultiCare proposed a new set of premiums specific to Case Managers, such as shift differentials and a weekend premium, but at rates lower than those in the nursing contract. We ultimately felt that these differing wage rates, premiums, and experience calculations were designed to create a division between Case Managers and the rest of the RN unit. In response, we presented counterproposals in the afternoon that would align Case Manager compensation with the main nursing contract—ensuring that experience is recognized consistently, that wages are aligned more with the RN wage scale, and also rejected the proposed lower premium rates.

"Despite what we feel are efforts to divide us, we feel more united than ever before!"

—Nicole Geff; Case Manager RN

Meanwhile for the RN contract, we also began our morning reviewing the latest set of proposals from management at our previous session. We are glad that in some areas of the contract we are making progress on getting to a final agreement with the employer, however many our highest priorities remain on the bargaining table as open issues for continued negotiation:

SAFETY:

• Maintaining free on-site parking, and working to secure language around transportation safety for nurses who have vehicles broken-into or damaged in the on-site garage.

STAFFING:

• Updating our contract language to reflect the new hospital staffing law in Washington State, and pushing for additional compensation for nurses who care for additional patients above what the hospital staffing plan permits.

WAGES:

• After receiving management's initial wage proposal at our last session—we were disappointed to see that their offer only provided a three percent (3%) increase in the first year of our 2024 contract—which doesn't even compete with the wages that nurses are earning in a number of Pierce County MultiCare hospitals.

We know that it would take more than twice that percentage—around 7.00%—to get us up to market with many other MultiCare nurses—so we hope management come to our next bargaining date on November 21 with a serious proposal that pays nurses at Auburn Medical Center for the lifesaving care we provide every day.

"Hopefully MultiCare find the rest of the budget for their next wage proposal!"

—Cory Larsen; RN

CONTRACT ACTION MEETING

To learn more about our ongoing negotiations, and to team up with our union siblings in the Service Unit with SEIU, join your bargaining team for a UNITY BREAK:

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center Cafeteria
Wednesday, December 11
7:30AM – 8:30AM

 

Providence Centralia Procedural Schedulers Accretion - Tentative Agreement Reach! Vote Scheduled

After winning our union election in February 2024, we are excited to announce that Procedural Schedulers (formerly Patient Schedulers & Senior Patient Schedulers) have reached a tentative agreement with Providence outlining our entry into the Service Unit Collective Bargaining Agreement with UFCW Local 3000! As a result of our efforts, we've won placement on a union wage scale, guaranteeing wage increases throughout our continued years of employment with Providence Centralia Hospital.

Furthermore, upon entering the Service Unit contract, we will have access to:

• Daily overtime—meaning any time worked over our scheduled shift is paid at one and one-half times (1.5x) our regular rate of pay!
• Heightened job protections—the employer cannot discipline or terminate us without meeting just cause!
• Representation in investigatory meetings, and recourse through the grievance procedure!

To be fully brought into the Union contract, we must first vote on the Agreement!

VOTE SCHEDULED

October 31, 2024 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Providence Centralia Hospital
Admin Conference Room

Reach out to your union representative or bargaining team member if you have any questions!

Our Bargaining Team: Cindy Sayers; Kim Young

Cascade Valley Security Officers and MSWs - Bargaining Update

On December 12, we had our first bargaining session for Security Officers and MSWs where we made a lot of great progress with seniority language for both groups and received a wage proposal for Security Officers which strengthened our position on wage parity.

Our team met again with the Employer at the bargaining table on January 4 for our second bargaining session. While the Employer made significant movement on wages for Security Officers, they rejected our other proposals around daily overtime, compensation, and safety. We remain united and continued to firmly push back on the employer's proposals. We gave compelling testimony about working conditions and we feel confident that the Employer will consider our testimony when they respond to our proposal on January 18.

The further we go, the more confident we are in the process. It felt great to be given the opportunity to vocalize our concerns around staffing and workload and the reality of the situation. Having a voice in our workplace is powerful.
—Our Bargaining Team: Lisa Warriax – MSW; Carl Ramirez – Security Officer

We will meet the employer back at the table on January 18 and are ready to continue our fight for fair wages and a safe workplace.

Cascade Valley Security Officers and MSWs - Successful First Day—More Dates Scheduled

BARGAINING TEAM: Carl Ramirez (Security Officer), Lisa Warriax (MSW)

“We received a wage proposal which gives us hope that Cascade Valley wants to engage in productive talks with us. We will keep going forward from here!”

Early this year we won our union election for Security Officers and MSWs. Our bargaining team met in the Fall and drafted proposals which would achieve parity with Skagit Regional, increase retention, and bolster recruitment efforts.

On December 12 we had our first bargaining session with the Cascade Valley’s management and had a successful day. Our proposal is for the existing Cascade Valley collective bargaining agreement to extend to security officers and MSWs. In addition, we proposed wage scales and other compensation for both classifications. Throughout an intense day of negotiations, we’ve already made headway, particularly in refining seniority language for both groups and establishing wage guidelines for Security Officers. Recognizing the significance of seniority in scenarios like job applicant tiebreakers, layoffs, and scheduling, we succeeded in establishing that our original date of hire with Cascade Valley would serve as our seniority date.

In our pursuit of equitable treatment, we firmly pushed back against the Employer’s proposals and stand united in advocating for wage parity. The battle for parity will continue in our upcoming sessions scheduled for January 4 and 18.

Providence St. Peter Hospital PTAs / COTAs Bargaining Update

“Unfortunately Providence rejected our proposal to place employees on a wage scale per their years of experience in their job classification. Having our years of experience recognized is a top priority!”—Cynthia Miner and Heidi Ranger

Our Union Bargaining Team met with Management on Thursday, June 29 to discuss the terms of our accretion into the technical unit represented by UFCW 3000. Thus far we have not been able to come to an agreement with Management about the structure of our wage scale and retaining greater continuing education benefits than the minimum required in the technical unit’s union contract.

As such, we are scheduled to meet with them again August 15. While we wish this were possible sooner, we also could not accept the offer on the table just for the sake of expediting the process.