MultiCare Capital Medical Center Professionals - First Contract Bargaining Update

MultiCare Capital Medical Center Professionals
First Contract Bargaining Update

January 22, 2026

On Thursday, January 22, we met for the fifth time with the Employer and presented our entire proposal back to them. Across our most recent series of proposals, we have taken management's feedback into consideration and amended a number of our proposals to align closer to the existing contract language within the RN and Service/Office/Technical CBAs at Capital Medical Center—as opposed to language more closely aligned with the remainder of the MultiCare System, like Auburn Medical Center or Tacoma General. Considering many of these contracts are aligned with intent, we did question management as to why their proposals offer less beneficial versions of the Capital Medical Center contract's language. Their response was that we have not had the history of bargaining that the other units do. However, we disagree with their position and do not feel that fewer bargaining cycles should translate to a less desirable contract! This includes their reluctance to include a wage scale in their proposal but rather rely on their analysis for our wages and any future raises.

Prior to the end of the day, we were able to come to an agreement on Discipline and Discharge and Personnel File language that allowed for documented corrective actions to not be considered for future discipline if no similar occurrences have occurred within one year after the write up was issued.

We are planning a Contract Action Team meeting on February 4 at 6pm to discuss how our negotiations are going and our plans moving forward.

Please reach out to your Bargaining Team members or Penny Cramer (your Union Rep) if you would like Union swag and/or have any questions.

MultiCare Covington Medical Center - Bargaining Update: Session #5

We came into our fifth session on December 29 having passed everything across to the Employer and were hoping to get responses in the morning. The Employer took until 1pm to pass across a proposal, which did not include economics. Despite the delay, we had productive conversations around the proposals that were passed. After we received the responses from the Employer, we worked diligently to get them back counters to their proposals. We moved on many topics and had valuable discussions about issues to help contextualize why we are making some of our proposals.

While we were waiting, our team met our new Union Rep Penny Cramer! Penny will be the Union Rep for the RNs immediately and will take over the Service and Tech units early next year. We also conducted Steward and leadership training to help our Bargaining Team understand the power of having strong Stewards in our workplaces and how we can all become one.

Because we have continued to make progress, we agreed to a one-month extension of our contract with the Employer and we are hoping to continue to make progress in our next session on January 7.

MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital - Tentative Agreement Regarding Distribution and Patient Transport Vote Scheduled

A Tentative Agreement has been reached between MultiCare and UFCW 3000 regarding the restructure of the Distribution Specialist and Patient Transport positions, and new Patient Equipment Transport Services ("PETS") job classification.

The Memorandum of Understanding (addition to our Collective Bargaining Agreement) outlines how currently-employed Distribution Specialists and Transporters who are moving to the new PETS position will be paid on the wage scale following implementation, as well as the pay scale for the PETS role, and clarifiers around seniority and date of step (longevity) increases for current workers.

We encourage all members in good standing to attend our scheduled vote meetings to review the MOU, ask questions, and cast your ballot:

Vote Meeting

Tuesday, December 30
6am - 8am
Tacoma General Hospital (Bunker Conference Room)

MultiCare Women's Center Clinics Accretion - TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED!

Following just two bargaining dates with MultiCare management to negotiate the terms and conditions of Women's Center employees' entry into the UFCW 3000/MultiCare Clinics union contract, our bargaining team is overjoyed to announce that we have come to a tentative agreement!

So what does that mean?

Simply put, this means that our union bargaining team has reached a final agreement with MultiCare on the part of the contract which will outline how we officially join the clinics Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The reason this is called a tentative agreement is because the next step is that we all vote on whether we accept the agreement. Permitting the majority of us agree, the process set forth will begin. 

What are my next steps?

We have scheduled votes for all of you to come by, review the agreement, and cast your ballot! We encourage all newly-represented Women's Center employees to attend, and as such we've worked to coordinate votes at all three locations:

Meeting rooms are pending confirmation from the Employer, an update will be sent from UFCW once verified!
Monday, March 3, 2025:

Puyallup MultiCare Women's Center
7:30 AM - 9:30 AM

Sunrise MultiCare Women's Center
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Bonney Lake MultiCare Women's Center
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

"This entire process, from organizing our union, winning our election, then meeting with management to negotiate our Agreement, has been tough- but we're so proud to say that we have come to an Agreement that benefits all members at the Women's Centers!"

—Carol Kring

Your Bargaining Team L-R: Liam Hughes, Medical Assistant @ Sunrise Women's Clinic; Tracey Fleming, Nurse Navigator @ Puyallup Women's Clinic; Carol Krings, Medical Receptionist @ Puyallup Women's Clinic.  

MultiCare Women's Center Clinics Accretion - Bargaining Begins!

Following our union election victory in August of 2024, we're excited to share that our MultiCare Women's Center bargaining team had its first day of contract negotiations with management on Thursday, February 6!

In preparation for our first meeting with management, we spent this morning finalizing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)—an addition to the union contract—that outlines how Women's Center employees will be integrated into the UFCW/MultiCare Clinics collective bargaining agreement. Our proposal, which we later presented to the Employer, includes key provisions such as:
 

• How union seniority will apply to Women's Clinics employees

• Preserving and protecting the vacation/PTO we earned prior to being union, and how we will accrue paid time off moving forward,

• And most importantly, how we transition to being paid on the union wage scales!

In simple terms, our position is that the most fair and equitable way to compensate us is by providing full credit for our years of relevant experience—because this is where the true value we bring to MultiCare lies!

After presenting our initial proposal to MultiCare, we were encouraged by the momentum we gained throughout the day, resulting in a total of three productive meetings with management.

Overall, we're optimistic about the progress made, and feel confident that we are on the right path toward reaching an agreement with the Employer.

We're looking forward to our next bargaining session on February 13, where we'll continue working toward securing a strong contract for Women's Center workers!

"Winning our union election was a monumental first step, and today, sitting together at the bargaining table feels like our second major victory. We got here by standing united, and together, we know that even more wins are on the way!"

—Liam Hughes, Medical Assistant
 

Your bargaining team [L-R]:
Liam Hughes, Medical Assistant @ Sunrise Women's Clinic; Tracey Fleming, Nurse Navigator @ Puyallup Women's Clinic; Carol Krings, Medical Receptionist @ Puyallup Women's Clinic.  

MultiCare Auburn Medical Center RNs - Case Manager Accretion - Tentative Agreement Reached! Contract Vote Scheduled

Following eleven bargaining dates over the course of nearly six months, our Case Manager RN bargaining team at Auburn Medical Center are overjoyed to announce that we have reached a fully recommended tentative agreement outlining our proposed entry into the RN union contract.

At our last scheduled session on January 22, we met MultiCare at the table, and proudly announced that we’d secured a supermajority of strike pledge card signatures in our unit. Pairing this with discussions around our continued priorities in these negotiations—MultiCare requested an emergency bargaining session on Monday, January 27 to get back to the table as soon as possible and continue working towards a deal.

Considering the many challenges we’ve faced throughout bargaining, our solidarity and resolve have led to what we strongly believe is a groundbreaking agreement for Case Manager RNs at Auburn Medical Center, including:

• Experience credit towards placement on the RN wage scale

• Access to premiums, differentials, daily overtime, and all of the union protections contained in the RN contract

• Protections around Case Manager RNs floating into other clinical areas of the hospital

• A specific wage differential for Senior Case Manager RNs

RATIFICATION BONUS!

To read the full agreement and cast your ballot, we encourage all newly-organized Case Manager RNs to drop-by our vote meetings!

Monday, February 10
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center
Cascade Training Room

• 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM

• 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Your AMC Bargaining Team: Sarah Murry, RN; Amber Hamilton, Case Manager RN; Nicole Joseph, Case Manager RN; Cory Larsen, RN; Nick White, RN; Mary Lou Gustafson, RN.