Our Union Bargaining Team met with the Employer again on July 16, to continue negotiations for our next Union contract. Given the Employer’s conduct during recent sessions, we did not expect significant progress. Unfortunately, we were proven right.
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St. Michael Medical Center
Bargaining Update - Sign The Strike Pledge Card Today!
Tuesday, July 7
Our Union Bargaining Team met with the Employer again on Tuesday, July 7, to continue negotiations for our next Union contract.
After more than a month of waiting for a response to our health care proposal, the Employer finally came back with a counterproposal. While we appreciate finally receiving a response, the numbers they proposed are not sufficient to keep up with projected increases in health insurance costs and would likely result in higher costs for workers.
Our Bargaining Team’s health care proposal was based on data provided by professional health care actuaries and is designed to ensure that the Employer bears the burden of projected cost increases instead of pushing those costs onto workers. Anything less increases the possibility that workers will pay more for their health care and our bargaining team believes any increases to workers is unacceptable, especially given the employer low offer on wage increases.
Frustrated but determined, our Bargaining Team got back to work and presented another comprehensive proposal for the Employer to review. Our proposal addresses many of the real needs workers are facing, including competitive market-based wages, affordable health insurance, and meaningful premium improvements. Our wage proposals did not make much movement, but they are in line with what the market is offering at other health care facilities and would help keep St. Michael competitive.
We stand by our proposals. They are realistic, data-driven, and necessary. The Employer, meanwhile, continues to act as if it can ignore the economic realities facing health care workers.
That became even more clear when the Employer sent back a second counterproposal later in the day. While they slightly increased their offer on health care, their movement on wages was minimal and insulting.
The Employer’s latest wage proposal is:
Year 1 (2026): 2.75%
Year 2 (2027): 2.50%
Year 3 (2028): 3.00%
Nothing will change until we take action. Many of your coworkers have already signed the Strike Pledge Card and are wearing Union stickers in the workplace. If you have not signed yet, now is the time!
Sign The Strike Pledge Card Today >>
Our next bargaining date with the Employer is July 16, and we have proposed additional dates for the Employer’s consideration.
"A hospital’s greatest asset is its people. A contract that fails to value them fails everyone."
— Lara Williams-Graham
"A big waste of time."
— Bryson Andrews
Bargaining Team: Robel Haile, Clinical Pharmacist; Bryson Andrews, ED Tech; Olivia Almeida, Respiratory Therapist; Merry Brandt-MacFann, CT Technologist; Lara Williams-Graham, Certified Surgical Technologist; Angela Roberson, EP Technologist; Rob Shauger, CNA.
While we were able to win some important improvements around bereavement leave, Weingarten rights, and requiring the Employer to give workers notice about the purpose of disciplinary or investigatory meetings, management continues to fall far short where it matters most: economics.
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Friday, June 26
We met with the Employer again on Friday, June 26, to continue negotiations toward a new contract. This came one day after our Pro-Tech Union siblings had an unproductive bargaining session of their own, which they described as a “big waste of time.”
Unfortunately, our bargaining session was not much different.
While the parties exchanged several proposals throughout the day, very little progress was made, especially on economics. The Employer’s current wage proposal for all workers is:
2.25% in year one
2.25% in year two
2.00% in year three
What makes this especially frustrating is that the Employer has continued to ignore many of our key economic proposals, including proposals to improve premiums such as shift differential, lead pay, and weekend premium. Our Union Bargaining Team took the time to carefully develop these proposals because they directly impact members’ lives and reflect the real challenges workers are facing. Having those priorities dismissed or left unanswered is unacceptable.
The day ended early because several members of management’s team needed to leave early. This has now happened during the last two bargaining sessions. Our Bargaining Team continues to come prepared and ready to bargain, but it is frustrating when management does not show the same urgency to reach a fair agreement.
Our technical UFCW 3000 Union siblings both here and at St. Joseph Medical Center, who have the same contract expiration date, also bargained this last week and experienced a similar lack of progress. Our Bargaining Team is working to coordinate with their team to discuss how we can work together to win fair contracts for all units, keep Virginia Mason Franciscan Health facilities competitive with the market, and set standards that will recruit and retain high-quality staff.
We encourage everyone to join our next virtual Contract Action Team (CAT) Meeting on July 9 at 4pm, where we will announce the next steps in this campaign.
July 9, 2026
4pm
We met with the Employer again on Thursday, June 25. All proposals were in the Employer’s court for response. Our Bargaining Team came prepared and hopeful that real progress could be made.
Unfortunately, the Employer was not ready to present proposals until 1:30pm. When they finally did meet with us, we were disappointed and frustrated to learn that they only had non-economic responses. They cited a lack of approval from higher management as the reason they could not respond to key economic proposals.
On economics, the Employer specifically pointed to a lack of approval to provide a meaningful response on health care, an issue we have still not received any counterproposal on. At this point, even if the Employer provided a counterproposal on all other economic issues, it would be extremely difficult for our Bargaining Team to respond without first receiving answers about the future of our health care costs.
Therefore, the Employer’s proposal on wages from our last session still stands:
2.50% in year one
2.50% in year two
2.25% in year three
What little the Employer did counter made almost no meaningful progress and did not address the issues that matter most to workers. The Employer continues to hold firm to its proposal to force workers to wear specific scrub colors by job classification, at workers’ own expense. They also proposed lopsided language that would treat members of our bargaining unit inequitably when it comes to recognizing experience, depending on job classification. And they continue to reject our reasonable safety proposal to increase security presence in the Family Birth Center.
Our Bargaining Team was able to quickly respond to the limited proposals the Employer did pass. But after only a few hours of actual bargaining, the Employer stated that they still did not have the approvals needed to provide further responses. As a result, we ended the day early, even though bargaining had already started late.
Our technical UFCW 3000 Union siblings at St. Joseph Medical Center, who have the same contract expiration date, also bargained this week and experienced a similar lack of progress. Our Bargaining Team is working to coordinate with their team to discuss how we can work together to win fair contracts for both units, keep Virginia Mason Franciscan Health facilities competitive with the market, and set standards that will recruit and retain high-quality staff.
We encourage everyone to join our next virtual Contract Action Team (“CAT”) Meeting on July 1 at 4pm, where we will announce the next steps in this campaign.
“The Employer came totally unprepared to be productive in bargaining.”
— Merry Brandt-MacFann
“They wasted our time and came back unprepared. So let’s be prepared and have everybody join our CAT Meeting at 4pm on July 1!”
— Rob Shauger
“When we bargain with the Employer, we are pulling resources from the hospital because our shifts need to be covered. So when management isn’t ready to bargain, it is just a waste of those resources.”
— Angela Roberson
CAT Meeting
July 1
4pm
Zoom
Bargaining Team: Robel Haile, Clinical Pharmacist; Bryson Andrews, ED Tech; Olivia Almeida, Respiratory Therapist; Merry Brandt-MacFann, CT Technologist; Lara Williams-Graham, Certified Surgical Technologist; Angela Roberson, EP Technologist; Rob Shauger, CNA
The Employer made only a minimal movement on wages. Even more concerning, they REJECTED EVERY premium pay increase proposed by the Union. This rejection was so extreme that they even rejected basic cleanup language on certification pay that did not include any substantive change and would not have created any additional cost for the Employer.
Read MoreThe Employer returned in the afternoon with only a partial response to our comprehensive proposal and did not yet provide a full economic response. Our Bargaining Team spent the rest of the day reviewing their proposals, pushing back where needed, and continuing to focus the conversation on the issues that matter most to members: staffing, safety, recruitment and retention, and fair wages and benefits.
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Going into our fifth bargaining day with CommonSpirit for the Pro-Tech-Support contract, we knew it was time to bring a bold proposal forward to management. Recapping our session on May 11, when we received management’s initial economic responses (which would continue to sink our wages at SMMC far below market rates throughout 2029), we reflected on the progress we have made so far on the non-economic sections of our contract. We wrapped up all but a handful of articles in just our first few days and decided that now might be a good time to strategize around our key priorities:
A contract that rises to current health care union contract standards
A contract that values the lifesaving work we perform
A contract that guarantees strong competitive wages for all job classes throughout the next several years
And lastly—doing all of this as quickly and productively as we can because we know our union siblings at the Medical Center are relying on our work at the table to secure the raises desperately needed to recruit and retain talented workers, and of course, to keep up with the increasing cost of living in our region.
To this end, our team gathered all the open items we had on the table, including non-economics, pay premiums and differentials, health insurance benefits, and wages, and built a comprehensive package proposal. This proposal must be accepted or rejected by the Employer in its entirety; otherwise, we have the ability to revert to our previous iteration of each proposal. We feel confident that this package will (a) illustrate to the Employer our dedication to reach an Agreement sooner rather than later, and (b) meet the expectations and needs of our coworkers stated above.
Because this package proposal took several hours to compose, it was only ready to bring to management in the late afternoon, and therefore we did not get a formal response before concluding negotiations for the day. That said, we are eager to return to the bargaining table on June 9 and look forward to continuing the fight for all Professional, Technical, and Clinical Support health care workers at St. Michael Medical Center!
To learn more about ongoing negotiations and discuss strategies to stand together for a fair contract, join our next Contract Action Team meeting.
Tuesday, May 26
4pm - 5pm
Zoom
Meeting ID: 863 0290 8542
Join Zoom Meeting >>
Bargaining Team: Robel Haile, Clinical Pharmacist; Bryson Andrews, ED Tech; Olivia Almeida, Respiratory Therapist; Merry Brandt-MacFann, CT Technologist; Lara Williams-Graham, Certified Surgical Technologist; Angela Roberson, EP Technologist; Rob Shauger, CNA
At our second day of contract negotiations, Tuesday, March 31, our Bargaining Team met with Management to continue working on the non-economic sections of our Collective Bargaining Agreement. We feel we made pretty good progress so far on topics such as the New Employee Orientation, and language which better accommodates PTO request & approval timelines for workers in departments with four (4) week schedules as well as six (6) week schedules.
Read MoreOn Thursday, March 26, our Union Bargaining Team met with the Employer for our first day of union contract negotiations. In preparation for our first day this cycle, our team met earlier in the month to review feedback from bargaining surveys, recent wins in other union contracts, and conducted a review of our current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to pinpoint areas for improvement.
Read MoreOn October 17, a strong majority of RNs voted to ratify our new contract! After six months of negotiations, we now have a stronger agreement that improves wages, safety, and working conditions.
Read MoreAfter six months of tough negotiations and a powerful, newsworthy informational picket, our determination paid off — we’ve reached a tentative agreement! After seventeen hours of bargaining, we were finally able to reach a settlement agreement around 3am on Tuesday, October 7!
Read MoreWe will be holding an informational picket on Thursday, October 2, from 3:30pm to 5:00pm on the corner of Myhre Road and Ridgetop Blvd. We look forward to seeing our fellow RNs, friends, family, and community members on our informational picket line! Remember that children and friendly pets are welcomed!
Read MoreYesterday (Wednesday, September 17) we held an all-day contract vote on Management’s “Best and Final” offer we were presented with in our last bargaining session on September 5. While we were able to win many improvements on premiums and contract language prior to September 5th, there are still significant unresolved issues. In its totality, the Hospital’s last proposal was not enough to improve staffing, so we recommended a NO vote.
Read MoreOn Friday, September 5 our Bargaining Team met with Management to continue negotiations. We began at 9am and stayed until September 6 at 2:30am Unfortunately, in their last proposal that would resolve the remaining issues, we were given a “Best and Final” offer. We are recommending a “no” vote and moving forward with a contract vote and informational picket to highlight our issues and share our message with the community.
Read MoreOn Monday, August 25, our RN Bargaining Team met with Hospital management to continue negotiations. We secured a tentative agreement that locks in the Hospital’s 401(k) contributions for the life of the contract—management cannot cut them. We also won new language granting RNs access to the Hospital’s cash balance retirement plan beginning January 2027.
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Bargaining Team: Kim Fraser, Pre-Op; Janice Brown, FBC; Meredith Francisco, Med Surg; Lindsey Gearllach, Obs; Tammy Olson, ICU
On Tuesday, August 19, our bargaining team met with management for our 17th joint bargaining session since April. In the morning, we were presented with a package proposal from the employer that unfortunately ties our efforts to establish break relief RNs for all shifts to dropping our proposed robust staffing ratios. We have not yet responded to this but feel we need to establish some solution to our staffing issues that goes beyond the basics of what the law requires.
In our previous bargaining session a few weeks ago, we made a large move and chose to move away from our proposal to get our bargaining unit on the Sound Variable Annuity Pension Trust and instead codify the employer match to our 401K in our contract. This also means accepting management's suggestion that RNs also have access to the alternative retirement plan provided by Common Spirit. We were frustrated this week that the counterproposal drafted by management to resolve this issue was vague and did not spell out the matching percentages they say they are willing to commit to.
Additionally, we continue to experience resistance from the employer on aspects of our proposals around workplace violence. Considering the rise in violence experienced in hospitals, and in particular the recent murder at Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma, we strongly believe that robust safety protocols are for the benefit of all of our coworkers, our patients, and the public in general. Yet this management responsibility continues to be viewed by the employer primarily through the lens of the cost of certain proposals. This raises the question for us: How much is our safety worth to Saint Michael Medical Center?
Please continue to share our community support letter on social media and sign it yourself if you haven't already:
We will return to the bargaining table on August 25 and have two more sessions scheduled in September.
This summer, hospitals across the state took a few more big steps toward implementing Washington’s safer staffing law, a union member-led measure to help nurses deliver the level of care their patients deserve.
At St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale, WA, medical-surgical nurse Meredith Francisco, who served on the new staffing committee, says the process worked out well enough. However, as many of us suspected when the landmark legislation passed in 2023, she and other nurses see room for improvement. Workers also voice serious concerns about loopholes that hospital managers already appear to be exploiting.
Our Bargaining team will be holding a meeting at the UFCW 3000 Silverdale office this Thursday (08/07/2025) after our day of negotiations scheduled with Management.
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On Monday, July 28, our Bargaining Team met with Management for our fourteenth joint bargaining session. We were given an economic proposal that would put our wages below those of St. Joseph Medical Center, an idea we were underwhelmed by. Other pieces they responded to were:
Retirement: they continue to offer a continuation of the existing 401K match and the potential addition of their cash balance option pension proposal as an alternative to the 401K, but have rejected our proposal to add Saint Michael to the Sound Variable Annuity Pension Trust.
Holidays: Management continues to reject adding Juneteenth to our existing holidays.
Contract Ratification Bonus: While they put a ratification bonus on the table this week, it was $500 for .9 FTEs and above, with this amount pro-rated for lower FTEs (per diems would be classified as .2 under their proposal).
Other items we traded continued proposals on were:
Mandatory call.
A workplace violence memorandum to address safety in the workplace.
Our next Contract Action Team Meeting will be on July 31 at 6pm. Please join us to discuss how we can keep the pressure on Management to get a fair contract soon!
Meeting ID: 893 9273 5171 Passcode: 798196
If you haven’t already, please sign our community support letter and share with friends and family.
We are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
