Providence RadiantCare Management rejects wage placement based on experience

On January 27, we met with Providence RadiantCare Management and reached an agreement on several non-economic articles. Management agreed to using job classification seniority in case of a lay-off, schedules can only be modified with mutual consent, and leaves of absence benefits cannot be changed during the life of the contract.

Most of our bargaining session focused on wages and compensation. Providence’s last proposal provides at least a 1.5% increase upon ratification. We believe the initial increase is not enough given that our unit has gone without a wage increase for almost two years and our wage rates are below the market. Providence continues telling us that they only consider clinic wage rates for our unit, but the reality is that Providence is competing with hospitals and clinics for caregivers. They should be looking at hospital and clinic rates!

Additionally, Providence told us that they are not interested in placing everyone at the appropriate wage rate commensurate to their experience. Under their proposal, a Radiation Therapist with two years of experience would be placed on the base step and a Radiation Therapist with six years of experience would be placed on Step 1. We told Management multiple times that many of us feel that there is an inequity in pay within our unit and their proposal will continue the inequity. We believe that we all deserve a competitive wage rate and caregivers with more experience should be paid more.

Our next bargaining session will be on February 1.

It is clear to us that in order to move them towards an equitable wage proposal, we will have to take collective action. Please continue wearing a sticker daily and stay tuned for future workplace actions.

Central Co-op - Bargaining Economics

“Seattle Co-op workers are standing with our Tacoma comrades to improve wages, bring stability to the Co-op, and ensure a better future for us as workers and for our communities.”
— Chris Paine, Seattle Produce Department

The union bargaining committee met with Central Co-op leadership on Friday, January 21, and Wednesday, January 26, to continue negotiations. Central

Co-op agreed to language for more timely responses time to PTO requests, gender-neutral language throughout the contract, and some general language clean-up.

Central Co-op has given us an abbreviated explanation of their current financial situation, and then at our next session gave us a brief summary of leadership’s plans to improve the business with more details promised in March after the board meeting. We appreciated the transparency and dialogue as we address our concerns about the current direction of the Co-op.

Last Friday, Co-op leadership made their economic proposals, and while we were happy that they proposed no cuts to our health care, they also proposed a 3-year wage freeze. We responded with our own wage proposal that gives Tacoma better equity, a ratification bonus for Seattle, and will get us back to the bargaining table to go after better wages in 18 months instead of 3 years. We also proposed stronger language to ensure that current employees’ experience is recognized on the wage scale.

We are also continuing to bargain over other issues like:

• Safety on the job and during this pandemic

• Improving retirement

• Clarify PTO cash outs

• New and expanded leaves

• A free shift meal

• Severance for store closure

We will be bargaining next on February 16, stay engaged and wear your stickers and union gear!

Our Bargaining Team:
Gordon Greenwood III - Seattle, Veronica Armstrong - Tacoma, Sydney Stenquist - Seattle, Chris Paine - Seattle, Kate White - Tacoma, Anne-Marie Cavanaugh - Secretary Treasurer UFCW 367, Lauren Vanwormer - Union Rep UFCW 21, Andy Heyman - Bargaining Rep UFCW 21

Seattle Children’s Hospital - Our Wages are officially on the table

Hear from our Bargaining Team about negotiations!
Thursday, February 3 @ 11 AM
>> RSVP HERE >> to get Zoom meeting details emailed to you.

“The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the status of our staffing. In some departments, the turnover is higher than 25%. A lot of employees are going on a traveling job because they’re underpaid and a lot more are needing to leave. We proposed competitive pay at SCH to fix this problem.”
-Tesfaldet Kidanemaria, Respiratory Therapist

Yesterday, January 25, our team met with Management for our fifth bargaining session. Management provided us with some counters to our non-economic proposals and we gave them the first half of our economics, which contained our initial wage and premium increase proposals.

It’s no secret that the hospital is currently experiencing a massive staffing crisis—a direct result from the criminally pitiful wages they pay us for the lifesaving work that we do. Day in and day out, each of us give our all to our patients, each other, and the hospital, going above and beyond by working longer hours, picking up extra shifts, and taking on duties outside of the roles we are paid for. We are specialized medical professionals, putting our lives on the line every day during this pandemic and giving up crucial time outside of work with our own families, all to keep the hospital functioning and make sure our patients get the care they need. But we are at a crossroads. We cannot continue to do this work unless there’s a significant change in how we are treated. We’ve heard our coworkers’ concerns over the last week and we know that Management’s wage proposals are nowhere near enough. The hospital needs to value us in the way that we value the kids we care for. We deserve better.

Getting out of this crisis will take bold action, so yesterday, we proposed historic, industry-leading wages for every single job classification. Unlike Management’s proposal (which would only bring us a little closer to the wages of other local hospitals), our wage proposal would skyrocket us to the top of the market immediately. We also proposed to get rid of the “ghost steps” in our current contract, to make sure we all see significant wage increases every year. In addition, since we strongly disagree with Management’s argument that our below market premiums and differentials don’t need to be increased, we also proposed industry-leading increases to all premiums and differentials. In particular, we proposed robust increases to the on-call/standby premium and raised the amount we receive when we are called into work. With top of the market wages and premiums, Seattle Children’s Hospital could recruit and retain new hires to fill the open positions as well as make it possible for those of us already here to stay long term.

Management’s stunned reaction at the table to our proposal shows us that we still have a long way to go. Our team is fighting hard at the table to convince them that these big changes are necessary, but we can’t win these much-needed wage and premium increases alone. We must stand together and demand that Management swiftly end the staffing crisis and provide the relief we desperately need.

Call Union Rep Christie Harris @ (206) 436-6606* today to ask how you can become more involved in what’s happening at the table and learn how you can join our upcoming Contract Action Team virtual meeting on February 3 @ 11 AM, where we can discuss the details of our economic proposal.

At our next bargaining session on Tuesday, February 1, we plan to offer the rest of our economic proposals on topics ranging from Time Away to overtime. Keep an eye out for the update afterward!

*Note: This is an office land line phone number and cannot receive text messages.

Bargaining Team: Matt Brabant - Respiratory Educator; Madison Derksema - Pharm Tech; Angela Ballard – Surgical Tech; Kellie Koenig - Ultrasound Tech; Ashley Strickland - Respiratory Transport; Tyler Schaffer - Anesthesia Tech; Tesfaldet Kidanemariam - Respiratory Therapist

Providence Sacred Heart - Wage Scale Revision

Providence has proposed a revision to the wage scale for Phlebotomists at Sacred Heart that would have across the board increases to the wage scale.

Because it is a change to our contract, we will need to have the affected members vote on the change.

All affected members in good standing are encouraged to vote YES! on Wednesday, February 2 @ 6:30 AM – 7:30 AM in the L2 A/B classroom. You must be in good standing and present to vote.

You will be provided with the proposal at the vote.

Capital Medical Center Technical Service - NEGOTIATIONS COLLAPSE

“We cannot have a deal unless the employer compensates us for the time worked without a raise since our contract was scheduled to expire in October.”

Bargaining Team: Adam Swigart, Julie Hinchcliff, and Maureen Ciglia

Your bargaining team met with management again on January 21 and 24 to continue negotiations for your successor contract.

We are disappointed to report that negotiations collapsed late into Monday night. While the union had made significant movement towards an agreement, the employer refused to make any meaningful changes to their proposal that would indicate that they were ready for a deal.

In fact, your bargaining team began our Monday bargaining session by informing the employer that we were ready to work into the night to reach an agreement. By mid-afternoon the employer stated that they didn’t feel that working into the night would be worth the effort, signaling that they did not care to reach a deal. Despite the management’s lack of enthusiasm, we continued discussions late into the evening. 

The major problem remains their proposed reduction of our Extended Illness Bank accruals and the removal of the day after Thanksgiving as a holiday. The union made proposals to mitigate the effects of such changes, however, we made clear that retro-pay back to scheduled expiration is the key to reaching a settlement on these issues. The employer responded with an insulting $275 ratification bonus instead of retro. MultiCare made explicitly clear to your bargaining team that they have no interest in paying employees at Capital Medical Center retro pay, even though they offered it to UFCW members at Tacoma General and Auburn Medical Center last year.

We did have informal talks about a higher ratification bonus, but it was nothing close to what we are owed for all the hours we’ve worked since our contract was originally scheduled to expire in October.

To make matters worse, the employer surprised your Bargaining Team by LOWERING their proposed across the board increase in the first year. Management’s excuse was that they needed to make such an adjustment to pay for other “improvements” they were offering since they had already exceeded their authority on the cost of our contract.

Your bargaining team felt strongly that we cannot accept an offer that cut our EIB accruals, removed a paid holiday, included a first year across the board increase that was lower than our last session, and included an insulting ratification bonus. 

We made clear to the employer that the Union’s movement towards the employer’s demands were not only contingent on retro-pay, but would also expire on Monday at 11:59PM. Since we failed to reach a deal, the union’s offer is now off the table and not available to the employer.   

We are working to enlist the assistance of a federal mediator, at which point we will schedule additional bargaining dates with management. 

Next Steps:

Stand up against MultiCare by reaching out to a Bargaining Team member or Union Representative to get “Keep your Hands off our PTO & EIB” stickers that you can wear in your workplace. 

Attend regular Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings to hear the latest updates regarding negotiations, plan actions to pressure management, and learn how to get your co-workers involved. Our next meeting is being held virtually February 2 @ 6:00PM

Capital Medical Center CAT Meeting

Wednesday, February 2 • 6:00PM

https://zoom.us/join

Contact your Bargaining Team or Union Rep for call-in details. Details will be also emailed out.

Providence St. Joseph Hospital - Wage Scale Revision

Providence has proposed a revision to the wage scale for Phlebotomy Lab Assistants that would have across the board increases to the wage scale.

Because it is a change to our contract, we will need to have the affected members vote on the change.

All affected members in good standing are encouraged to vote YES! on Tuesday, February 1 @ 12 PM – 1 PM in the DEC1 room. You must be in good standing and present to vote.

You will be provided with the proposal at the vote.

St. Michael Medical Center RN - Bargaining Begins!

Your bargaining team met with management for the first time on January 19, kicking-off negotiations at St. Michael Medical Center! While our contract isn’t scheduled to expire until May, getting an early start on negotiations will increase the chances of reaching an agreement before expiration. 

Our initial proposal, which primarily focused on non-economic items, included:   

• Improved language regarding Charge Nurses, 

• Broader application of preceptor pay,

• Modifications to CEDO, including fixes to low census standby,

• Stronger protections for Per Diem nurses,

• And much more!

Your Bargaining Team was also working to support House Bill 1868, which would implement new safe staffing standards across the state. A member of your team briefly stepped away from negotiations to testify in support of the proposed legislation, sharing with legislators the dangerous conditions that persist at St. Michael Medical Center. 

In addition to implementing safe staffing standards that protect you from dangerously high patient loads, the law would close loopholes to the existing overtime and rest break law and add additional enforcement mechanisms to ensure hospitals comply with the laws.

We are excited about the opportunities to improve our contract through negotiations; however, it is imperative that we simultaneously fight to improve the laws that will hold the hospital accountable for their failure to provide a safe working environment. You can help support HB 1868 by sending a letter of support to your legislator though this link: 

We are scheduled to meet with the employer again on February 3 with additional dates scheduled through March.

“As negotiations begin it is imperative that we support House Bill 1868, which would implement new safe staffing standards across the state.”

Your bargaining team: Anne Burns, Brett Moore, Cindy Franck, Kimberly Fraser McMillan, Michael Nord, Tammy Olson

Seattle Children’s Hospital - IT’S NOT ENOUGH, WE WON'T BE FOOLED

“Today, Management gave us a starting point to work from and although it is not close to where we want to be we know with your help we know we can get the strong wages we all deserve!”

-Angie Ballard, Surgical Tech

Yesterday, on Thursday, January 20, our Bargaining Team met with Management for our fourth negotiation session. We started the day by providing a set of strong counter proposals on a variety of non-economic topics then management gave us their economic proposal.

While at first glance Management’s proposal can seem promising, a closer look shows that it is still woefully lacking. They claim it would provide an average 8% wage increase on top of a 2.25% wage increase across the board increase Year 1, however this is misleading. The reality is that this “average” is extremely skewed by the fact that only a handful of positions, one’s that were left behind by Management in our last negotiations, would receive large wage increases; everyone else would only see meager increases. What’s even worse is that almost all of the increases they proposed, including the larger ones, would only serve to bring our wages to just below market for hospitals in the area and comparing us to non-specialty hospitals is like comparing apples and oranges. On top of all of this, they claim their focus on wages means we don’t need to the improve other economic elements of our contract (premiums, differentials, Time Away accruals, parking costs, insurance costs, etc) despite the fact that the hospitals they are comparing us to have better benefits in each of these areas.

We won’t be fooled. Seattle Children’s Hospital needs to do better. As specialty hospital we provide care which is unparalleled in the local area and requires additionally levels of training and competence compared to these non-specialty hospitals. As a result, we believe our wages, premiums, differentials, and other economic benefits should lead the market, rather than trail behind it.

In our next session on Tuesday, January 25, we plan to provide our robust economic counter to Management. This will include market and industry leading wages for all of us as well as substrative increases to the other economic elements of our contract Management wants to leave behind.

Now more than ever, our Bargaining Team needs your help to win a strong contract. We need stand together and show Management that it will take more than just inadequate wage increases to fix the massive staffing crisis we are facing!

You and your coworkers can get more involved by coming to our Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings where we discuss what’s happening at the table in more detail and talk about the upcoming actions we are planning. Our next meeting is this coming Monday, January 24 at 4:30PM, RSVP to join the Zoom meeting at: https://bit.ly/SCH-CAT

To learn more about how you can stay informed and help our team at the table please call you Union Rep Christie Harris at (206) 436-6606 and follow our Instagram page @schworkers.

Hear from our Bargaining Team about negotiations! RSVP to get Zoom meeting details emailed to you!
Monday, January 24
4:30 PM
https://bit.ly/SCH-CAT

Bargaining Team: Matt Brabant - Respiratory Educator; Madison Derksema - Pharm Tech; Angela Ballard – Surgical Tech; Kellie Koenig - Ultrasound Tech; Ashley Strickland - Respiratory Transport; Tyler Schaffer - Anesthesia Tech; Tesfaldet Kidanemariam - Respiratory Therapist

Capital Medical Center Technical Service - BREAKTHROUGH!

Your Bargaining Team met with management again on January 10 to continue negotiations for your successor contract.

We are excited to report that we’ve made significant process in negotiations with management having a sudden change of heart. At the end of our last session, management surprised us by making an economic proposal that ceded to a significant portion of the Union’s economic demands, which would bring Capital Medical Center employees up to market competitive wages. 

For the last few months your Bargaining Team has been showing MultiCare comprehensive data that shows that our wages are far behind what other hospitals are paying, justifying our proposals for large increases. Your Bargaining Team also expressed frustration that MultiCare has been willing to give employees at other facilities significant wage increases but not Capital Medical Center, as if we are not a priority to MultiCare. You also make this clear by wearing stickers in the workplace that informed patients that “MultiCare is Failing our community.”

They listened… but we’re not done yet.  

While historic wage increases are on the table, MultiCare is still proposing to cut your Extended Illness Bank accruals by about 40%. We warned management that if they want a deal anytime soon, their proposal must be withdrawn, or we will be forced to take further action. We know the community will not stand for MultiCare’s attack on healthcare workers EIB, especially in the middle of a pandemic, no matter the wage increases being offered.

We will meet with the employer again on Friday, January 21 and it is possible that we’ll have an agreement. However, this will be contingent on MultiCare withdrawing their EIB proposal. In the meantime, please continue to wear your union stickers at work and tell your manager what you think about their EIB proposal. 

“We’ve seen a breakthrough in negotiations, historic wage increases are suddenly on the table”

Bargaining Team: Adam Swigart, Julie Hinchcliff, and Maureen Ciglia

Next Steps:

Stand up against MultiCare by reaching out to a Bargaining Team member or Union Representative to get “Keep your Hands off our PTO & EIB” stickers that you can wear in your workplace. 

Tell your manager what you think about MultiCare’s proposal to cut your EIB accruals by about 40%.

Attend regular Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings to hear the latest updates regarding negotiations, plan actions to pressure management, and learn how to get your co-workers involved. Our next meeting is being held virtually January 19 @ 6:00PM

Capital Medical Center CAT Meeting
Wednesday, January 19 • 6:00PM

Central Co-op - UFCW 367 & 21 Members Stand Together to Improve Working Conditions and Benefits

Today we met with Central Co-op management for the first time and made initial proposals for:

• Increased PTO time, and prompt responses to time off requests

• New Holidays and new Holiday Language to offer premium pay for the first time

• New and expanded leaves and protections

• New Safety and Vaccination language including paid time-off for recovery from COVID or vaccination

• A free meal for all shifts of 5 hours or more

We also talked about:

• Interim Positions

• Clarifying PTO payout

• Scheduling and Staffing Issues

We are expecting to hear responses from management at our next bargaining session on January 21, 2022.  We will also be discussing the Co-op’s finances so that we can make proposals for wages, retirement, and healthcare.

“For management to take our proposals seriously we need to send a clear message of solidarity.”

—Veronica Armstrong
Tacoma Store Receiver

We will have stickers for us to wear in a show of unity for a fair contract soon! Please keep an eye out for distribution in our stores. 

Your bargaining team,

Gordon Greenwood III - Seattle, Veronica Armstrong - Tacoma, Sydney Stenquist - Seattle, Chris Paine - Seattle, Kate White - Tacoma, Anne-Marie Cavanaugh - Secretary Treasurer UFCW 367, Lauren Vanwormer - Union Rep UFCW 21, Andy Heyman - Bargaining Rep UFCW 21

MHS Covington Medical Center (Service, Technical & RN) WAGES UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED!

UFCW Local 21 members at Covington Medical Center unanimously voted to approve their proposed wage increases yesterday, Thursday, January 13,

The proposed increases will become effective Sunday, January 16; however, the Employer has warned that the Kronos outage could cause a slight delay in member’s seeing the difference in their paycheck.

Now we must prepare for contract negotiations later this year, which will be another opportunity to further increase wages and work on solutions to other workplace issues.

One of the best things you can do to prepare for upcoming negotiations is to sign up for a Steward training! In Steward training, you will learn your rights and protections and how to push back against unfair practices by management. You will also learn how to represent a coworker in a disciplinary meeting and uphold your contract.

To sign up for a training, go to: ufcw21.org/steward-training

Samaritan Hospital - New Three-Year Contract Ratified with Super Majority Vote

After two sessions of bargaining and countless hours of hard work and dedication put in by your bargaining team, on January 10 and 11 we were able to recommend and ratify our new contract with competitive wage increases and gain some recognition for longevity with increased PTO accrual.

We look forward to building strength and unity within our facilities so that we can show Samaritan that we will not be divided in our fight for a fair contract in the next negotiation!

Please contact your bargaining team or Union Rep Maureen Hatton 509-340-7370 with any questions or concerns.

Your Bargaining Team,

Tammy Fisk

Russell Roden

Gloria Robbins

Rachael Hunter

Providence RadiantCare - Providence proposes lesser wages than current minimum hourly rates

On January 11, we met with Providence for our fifth bargaining session. Providence responded to the remaining non-economic articles: definitions, employment practices, seniority, hours of work and overtime, and leaves of absence. We are close to an agreement on most of these articles except for the lay-off procedure. Providence has proposed to use bargaining unit seniority instead of job classification seniority in determining which employees would be laid off. As an example, a PCC who becomes an RN and has seven years of service, but only one year of experience as an RN, would bump an RN who has five years of service. We believe using job classification seniority is a better approach for a lay-off.

Providence also responded to our economic proposal with a 1.5% increase in 2022, 1.5% increase in 2023, and 2% in 2024. Additionally, their base rates are less than the current minimum rates for each classification! Their wage scale and across the board increases will not retain or recruit workers. Radiantcare workers would be earning several dollars less than the same classifications at Providence Centralia, Everett, and St. Peter’s. We must take action to show Providence that their wage proposal is not acceptable, and we deserve the same wage rates as Centralia, Everett, and St. Peter’s!

We will be holding a car sign action on Thursday, January 20 at all three clinics. Please ask one of your Bargaining Team members for a car sign which you can display on your windshield and for a sticker that you can wear daily until January 27. Let’s show Providence that we are UNITED, and we will fight for a fair wage scale!

If you are available, please join us on the sidewalk in front of the Centralia clinic @ 1pm- 2pm and Lacey clinic @ 3pm- 4pm on Thursday, January 20.

If you have comments, workplace issues, or are facing disciplinary action, please contract your Union Rep Erin McCoy @ (206) 436-6598 (landline).

Bargaining Team: Kelly Covington (RN), Winter Everson (Radiation Therapist), Branden Raftery (Dosimetrist), and Paul Lofing (Radiation Therpaist)

Capital Medical Center - Multicare is failing our community

“Does MultiCare even Care?”
-Bargaining Team: Adam Swigart, Julie Hinchcliff, and Maureen Ciglia

Our Bargaining Team met with Management again on December 20.

MultiCare made another economic proposal, warning the Bargaining Team that they are “reaching their authority” on wage increases at Capital Medical Center.

MULTICARE’S CURRENT OFFER
Year 1: 5.75%
Year 2: 2.00%
Year 3: 2.00%

We are again disappointed with their offer that would fail to raise our wages to market standards, including MultiCare’s own neighboring facilities such as Tacoma General Hospital. Furthering our frustration is their continued insistence on radically changing our Paid Time Off (PTO) and Extended Illness Bank (EIB) program, still asking to cut our EIB accruals by about 40%.

How does MultiCare think it is acceptable to reduce the accrual rates of health care workers Extended Illness Bank in the middle of a pandemic! It’s INDEFENSIBLE to propose takeaways to the very system that would defend a healthcare worker in the unfortunate event they become ill while protecting our community from COVID-19, especially as Omicron cases overwhelm our hospitals.

We will be reaching out to community leaders in the coming weeks to inform them of MultiCare’s attack on healthcare workers at Capital Medical Center. Ensuring the community that MultiCare is failing healthcare workers and their community at their most vulnerable time.

We will be meeting with Management again on January 10, then again on January 21 and 24.

Next Steps:

• Stand up against MultiCare by reaching out to a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep to get “MultiCare is failing our Community” stickers that you can wear in your workplace.

• Attend regular Contract Action Team (CAT) meetings to hear the latest updates regarding negotiations, plan actions to pressure management, and learn how to get your co-workers involved. Our next meeting is being held virtually, January 19 @ 6PM.

Join our online Contract Meeting and hear from the Bargaining Team!
Wednesday, January 19 @ 6 PM
https://zoom.us/join
Contact a Bargaining Team member or your Union Rep for meeting details. Details will be emailed as well.

Hood Famous Bake Shop Wage Scale Unanimously Approved

Hood Famous Bake Shop

Wage Scale Unanimously Approved!

We are excited to announce that members at Hood Famous unanimously voted to approve the proposed changes to their contract, including the addition of a new wage scale! If you have any questions, or would like to have a copy of the approved changes, please reach out to Union Representative Heather Elliott at 206-436-6591

Sign up for a steward training!

Every department needs strong Stewards – both right now and between negotiations. In Steward training, you will learn your rights and protections and how to push back against unfair practices by management. You will also learn how to represent a coworker in a disciplinary meeting and uphold your contract.

Sign up for a training at ufcw21.org/steward-training

Conifer St. Michael Medical Center - Contract Ratified

We are excited to announce that members at Conifer St. Michael overwhelmingly voted to ratify the new contract on January 5!

Your first 10.00% wage increase should become effective in about one pay period with another 2.50% increase in early April. We are very excited about the new contract, which we believe will help recruit and retain staff with significantly higher pay and improved working conditions.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your workplace Steward or call Union Representative Ryan Degouveia at (360) 662-1989.

Sign Up for A Steward training! Every department needs strong Stewards - both right now and between negotiations. In Steward training, you will learn your rights and protections and how to push back against unfair practices by Management. You will also learn how to represent a coworker in a disciplinary meeting and uphold the contract.

To sign up for a training, go to:
ufcw21.org/steward-training

Seattle Children’s Hospital - Bargaining Update

“Even though things are looking optimistic this is not a time for us as to back down and settle! We as union members need to continue with our unity and show our strength even more so with current staffing shortages and ongoing health crisis.”

-Tyler Schaffer Anesthesia Tech

Yesterday, Tuesday January 4, our Bargaining Team met with Management for our third bargaining session. We presented almost all of our remaining non-economic language proposals and provided counters to many of what Management gave back to us. This means that the way is now clear for us to begin negotiating economic issues next session.

Management presented the diversity and inclusion policies Seattle Children’s is implementing. While we like the idea of what they told us they were working on, we know that their words and promises only hold weight if they commit to being held accountable for addressing the significant equity issues the hospital continues to face daily. Management has to practice what they preach and accept our trailblazing equity and inclusion proposals— which would force them to be accountable to us as workers, and make sure we are part of the decision-making process. We hope to receive a positive response to this proposal next session.

Overall, we were happy to see that Management seems to have changed their tune, doing away with their unfair package proposals and instead presenting individual counters on most of the outstanding proposals we made. Management even went as far as to finally acknowledge that we are in a massive staffing crisis. We know that fixing this requires bold wage increases and other economic incentives, so we again hope that Management’s words translate into real commitments in our contract.

This shift is the direct result of the strong actions, like our recent sticker-ups, that we are taking in the field. Management is finally starting to see we are all unified and willing to take bold actions get a fair contract. We need to keep up the pressure by participating in more upcoming actions, making sure coworkers are connected to what is happening with our negotiations by following our Instagram (@schworkers), and joining our Contract Action Team (CAT). There’s too much at stake to sit on the sidelines!

Call your Union Rep Christie today @ (206) 436-6606, to ask how you can join our CAT, find out how you can get more connected with our campaign updates, and learn what you can do to help empower your Bargaining Team at the table.

Our next negotiations session will be on Tuesday January 20. Keep an eye out for future updates and a summary of our proposals.

Bargaining Team: Matt Brabant - Respiratory Educator; Madison Derksema - Pharm Tech; Angela Ballard – Surgical Tech; Kellie Koenig - Ultrasound Tech; Ashley Strickland - Respiratory Transport; Tyler Schaffer - Anesthesia Tech; Tesfaldet Kidanemariam - Respiratory Therapist

RSVP to our online Contract Action Meeting tomorrow:
Thursday, January 6
11 AM
https://secure.everyaction.com/zqqN-XRxcEemWs4O72fcQg2
RSVP to your meeting, and you'll get the details for your online meeting emailed to you.

We will be going into more detail about what happened at the table and how we can participate

Jefferson HealthCare Pro Tech & Clinic - Tentative Agreement Reached!

After 16 weeks of bargaining we have reached a tentative contract agreement which includes: 

• Competitive wage increases for every job including market increases for jobs below market

• Full retro from 11.1.21

• One for one credit for past experience process to bring people up to their correct wage level

• Premium Improvements including Shift Differential for Security Guards

• Process for a temporary reduction of FTE when needed

• Improved scheduling language

• And more…

Your bargaining team recommends a “YES” vote!

Additional information regarding the vote, including location and times will be sent when confirmed. Please make sure we have your updated contact information so we can send you the details.

For additional information, please reach out to any Bargaining Team member or Union Representative Ryan Degouveia at 360-882-1989.

Our Jefferson Healthcare Pro Tech & Clinic Bargaining Team: Karen Starling, Clinic RN; Nell Allen, Pharmacy Tech Specialist; Natalie Irwin, Physical Therapist; Kim Vasenda, CNA; Monique Samos, Patient Accounts Rep; Miychell Vereeke, Dental Assistant; Robyn Wentz, Surgical Tech; Ryan De Gouveia, UFCW 21; Cathy Macphail, UFCW 21

Update Your Contact Info!

Jefferson Healthcare RN - Management is Being Unreasonable

Our bargaining team met with management on December 28 to continue negotiations and worked into the early morning the following day. Although we were able to make some movement, we were disappointed with management’s economic proposal.

Management is proposing to cut into our medical leave by stripping away the protections that allows you to return to your position after recovering from a medical or maternal leave. A prospect that is even more unthinkable in the time of COVID.

They want to take away shift differential pay for day shift employees and some evening shift employees based on the timing of your shifts. This coming at a time when nearly everyone is already working well past their FTE due to staffing shortages and are feeling the emotional exhaustion and burnout that is hitting harder than ever. 

Management says they want to raise wages to be competitive in the market but seem fine leaving those who have put in the most time with Jefferson Healthcare behind by offering multiple wage proposals where nurses would make less money in each following year than they did the previous year.

Jefferson is telling us that this is the best they can do. This is unacceptable and NOW is the time to let them know that we will not stand for takeaways in our contract. We have worked hard to serve our community and patients during this unprecedented crisis, and it is unreasonable for Jefferson to expect us to do that and do it while they take even more from us than the last two years already have. 

Sign the Petition for Respect and Retention! 

https://bit.ly/jeffersonrn22

Please contact any of the Bargaining Team Nurses for details: Ben Schadler, RN ICU; Melanee Knudson, RN FBC; Jeannette Hundley, RN Surgical Services; Robin Bridge, RN ED

Update Your Contact Info

https://www.ufcw21.org/update-your-information

Seattle Children’s Hospital Tech - Management Needs to Take Us Seriously

On Tuesday, December 21, our team met with management for our second session of joint negotiations. We were disappointed to receive a meek response to what we proposed last week. Management denied most of our strong lanaguage which included expanding access to union resources, an accessible new employee union orientation led by coworkers, limiting managements unilateral power over us, and fully integrating per diems into our union. Even worse, what could have been promising movement towards meeting some of our proposals was completely negated by the fact that their response was in “package” form, meaning that they will only accept these proposals altogether. Essentially, they are trying to force us to accept their bad proposals in exchange for some of our priorities. 

We are sad but not surprised to see that they do not want to fully incorporate the per diems into the union. Currently per diems do not have the same level of protection as other workers. They also cannot become stewards, bargaining team members, or even vote on our contract. This is a strategic move from management to divide us and weaken our union power.

We also did not hear back from many of our strong proposals that would improve the working conditions within the hospital including one would increase the equity that they claim to prioritize along and another that would decrease the cost of commuting to work. We need management to respond on all our non-economic proposals so we can move on to negotiate our economics, however, they have made it clear that is not their intention.

At the table we pushed back and told management that we won’t allow them to bully us into a bad agreement with this take it or leave it approach. We told them they need to meet us at the table as equals to negotiate a fair contract that addresses the real issues we face daily. 

Still, we know it will take more than our words at the table alone to change their minds. Management needs to see that we are ready to fight for a strong contract and that we don’t have time to waste playing hardball. We need to continue to talk with our coworkers and encourage them to join our Slack and Instagram(@schworkers) so everyone can be informed about upcoming actions we will take to show management we are serious! 

Our next bargaining session will be on January 4. Keep an eye out for more updates, including a summary of all the proposals we have put across the table so far! 

If you want to find out how to get more involved by joining the Contact Action Team or Slack, or you have any questions about bargaining, please call your Union Rep Christie Harris at 206-436-6606

“Today we saw that management is hoping to give us the bare minimum. It is more essential now than ever to be visibly united in front of management through actions and involvement of all departments so that we can garner power and demand the strong contract we deserve.”

— Kellie Koenig, Sonographer

Our SCH Tech bargaining team: Matt Brabant - Respiratory Educator, Madison Derksema - Pharmacy Tech, Angela Ballard – Surgical Tech, Kellie Koenig – Ultrasound Tech, Ashley Strickland – Respiratory Transport, Tyler Schaffer – Anesthesia Tech, Tesfaldet Kidanemariam – Respiratory Therapist