Labcorp - Ready & Left Waiting—Again

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Our Bargaining Team: Nancy Pyanowski, Kyle Chrisman, Sam McVay, Lisa Magee, Matt Noll, Shelby Tyner, Deborah Gibby

Once again, our LabCorp Bargaining Team came to the table prepared and ready to negotiate. Once again, Management let us down.

Despite receiving our economic proposals two sessions ago, LabCorp failed to live up to their promise of having counters for us. Instead, we traded non-economic proposals and counters, and continued our ongoing discussions of how to address understaffing and work shipping out, expanding training opportunities, and increasing recruitment and retention.

We urge Management to respond to our wage, benefits, and other economic proposals so that we can move forward and negotiate over all of our priorities at the next session on September 6.

SPEAK UP, STAND TOGETHER—WE NEED YOU TO SIGN OUR WAGE PETITION

The time is now! To win the wage increases and benefits we deserve, we must show Management that we are united and ready to fight together. This starts with each of us signing the wage petition and coming to the CAT meetings to strategize our plan to win. We will be planning upcoming actions and sharing our economic proposals at our CAT meetings. All Union members are welcome to attend!

Sign the Petition

Online Contract Action Team Meeting!

Sunday, August 20

  • 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Monday, August 21,

  • 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Sign up here get Zoom invitation details here, or find the link here!

Look for text message updates from our Bargaining Team to take action!

Not getting text messages from us? Update your information now!

Bartell Drugs - Bargaining Begins!

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Our Bargaining Team: Dani Fisher & Trevor Peterson

After months of delays, Management finally came to the table to begin contract negotiations with our Bartell Bargaining Team last week. We had deep discussions on:

  • Bartell/Rite Aid’s plans for addressing ongoing workplace security issues and proactively protecting member safety

  • How we can make healthcare and other benefits more affordable and accessible for all of us

  • Clarifying our PTO use and accrual policies, incident reporting procedures, how to access benefit info off the clock, and reaffirming that we have the right to wear Union buttons at work

Both sides came prepared and ready to make up for the time missed, and our team and Management passed language and benefit proposals. We are hopeful that negotiations continue to be productive as we prepare for our next session on September 1, 2023.

STAND TOGETHER—WEAR YOUR UNION BUTTONS EVERY DAY!

Bartell/Rite Aid’s national Director of Labor Relations confirmed during negotiations that we have the right to wear our UFCW 3000 buttons at work. So let’s do it! We’ll be wearing our Union buttons every day so we can show Management that we’re united and ready to fight for the higher wages, affordable benefits, and safer workplaces that we deserve!

Need more buttons? Let one of us or our Union Reps know ASAP so we can get them to you and your coworkers.

If you haven’t already, help us build our strength so we can win a strong contract by signing our Safety Petition!

SPEAK UP—SHARE YOUR PICTURE AND YOUR STORY!

We need you, your voice, and your experiences—send pictures of you and your coworkers wearing your Union buttons to our team or our Reps!

Share your story about why you’re fighting for better pay, affordable benefits, or safer workplaces—or all three! Write it down or film a short video and share with our team or our Reps, so our coworkers can get fired up and find their own voice

STAY INFORMED—UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFO

Make sure your contact information is up to date so you don’t miss out on bargaining updates or upcoming Contract Action Team meetings!

If you have any questions, contact your Union Representatives Dominick Ojeda @ (206) 436-6586 and Mohamed Bonah @ (206) 436-6514

PCC Bargaining Update

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KEY PROPOSALS NOW ON THE TABLE —KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!

Our Union Bargaining Committee met with PCC representatives on August 10. We put quite a few important proposals across the table, and expect serious responses from management at our next bargaining session. The proposals we made include:

  • One wage scale for all, whether you’re in Seattle or Issaquah

  • Wage proposals for Clerks, Meat Wrappers, and Meat Cutters that establish a starting wage of $25 per hour and achieve $35 per hour for journeypersons by the end of the contract!

  • Moving all Helper Clerks to the Clerk wage scale

  • Increasing the pay for group A and B by $1.00

  • Increases to our Courtesy and Service Counter wage scales

  • Increasing night pay differentials

  • Wage escalators to guarantee our wages stay above the minimum wage

  • Improved holiday language

  • Seats for cashiers as well as others

  • Strengthening the four 10-hour workdays for grocery

  • An ability to pick up open shifts through new DayForce roster

  • Increasing the rest between shifts from 10 hours to 12 hours

Take action every day to build power in the workplace! You can help further the fight for a fair contract by:

Updating your information to ensure you receive all updates during the bargain

Wearing your union button every shift

Discussing the bargain with your coworkers—it’s your right!

Attending a Contract Action Team meeting during the week of August 21 – 24 to get the latest information

Sharing your feedback: The Bargaining Committee wants to hear from you! Look for us in the store and let’s talk.

RSVP for our next bargaining dates: August 22 & 23. We hope to see you there! Bargaining will be held at the Sea-Tac Hilton right off the airport light rail station. (Sea-Tac Hilton, 17620 International Blvd, Seattle, WA 98188)

PRMCE RN Weekly Bargaining Update

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On August 6 we handed out over 200 leaflets to the community at the Everett Farmers' Market! Community members we spoke to at the Farmers' Market were extremely supportive of our fight for better staffing at Providence Everett. Many people shared stories with us about long waits in the emergency room and Providence’s predatory medical billing practices. From our conversations, the community wants PRMCE to increase nurse staffing and to decrease medical costs.

When we first began bargaining, we proposed that PRMCE make charity care more accessible for our patients and PRMCE rejected our proposal. Although in expedited negotiations we cannot revisit this topic since it is off the table, we can propose this concept if we move to “incremental” negotiations.

Incremental bargaining means that we would reset negotiations and would be able to make new proposals or repropose language from our expedited negotiations. While this may delay reaching a tentative agreement by October 2023, this might be our only option going forward given PRMCE’s unwillingness to agree to our economic and staffing proposals.

We have a tentative negotiation date of August 28. We are currently waiting for the PRMCE management to confirm the date.
Regardless of expedited or incremental negotiations we will continue holding actions and preparing to strike to show PRMCE we are serious about our proposals. On August 22 at 8pm via Zoom we will be holding a strike captain training, please join us if you are willing to be a leader in your unit/department.

Please join us at one of the actions below:  

  • September 21 Community Townhall @ Everett Labor Temple 2810 Lombard Ave Everett 5-6pm

  • Late August to September- Strike educational meetings for nurses

  • August 27 Everett Farmers Market 10:30 to 12pm (meet at the corner of Pacific and Wetmore) 

  • August 22 Strike Captain Training 8pm-9pm Zoom Meeting 

  • August 17 AquaSox Union Solidarity Night 6pm to 7pm (free tickets will be available to the game after the action, please RSVP with Anthony Cantu 206-436-6566)

  • August 16 Community Townhall @ Everett Labor Temple 2810 Lombard Ave Everett 5-6pm

Show PRMCE that we are serious about our proposals and are willing to strike!If you have not already signed the strike pledge, please click on the link PRMCE RN - I Promise to Take Action! (jotform.com)
Also encourage your coworkers to update their information: https://ufcw3000.org/update-your-information

Our Union PRMCE RN Bargaining Team: Trevor Gjendem, Juan Stout, Carrie Rimel, Kelli Johnson, Stephanie Sausman, Julie Byum, Kristen Crowder 

Wage Comparison between PRMCE Management’s proposal vs. Overlake and Swedish Edmonds

As you can see below PRMCE’s proposal keeps RNs wage rates behind Overlake through August 2024 and Swedish Edmonds through February 2025. Overlake and Swedish Edmonds will renegotiate their wages in 2024 and 2025 meaning the PRMCE RNs will be even more behind these two hospitals in 2024, 2025, and 2026

EvergreenHealth Kirkland - Bargaining Continues

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We continued to bargain on Monday, August 7, and Management is clear that they do not want to increase wages in 2023. They say Evergreen already pays competitive wages and they don’t want to have the highest wages in the area, but would rather be “in the middle”. They don’t seem to understand this competitive job market and how it impacts our staffing when they refuse to pay competitive wages.

We have reached tentative agreements in many other areas including: overtime language for 7/70 shifts, rollover of Continuing Education Funds, travel time when floating to a different work location, and reinforcing the Labor Management Committee language.

There is still much work to do. We need to stand together to fight for a fair contract!

Please join us at the Board of Commissioners Meeting!

Tuesday, August 15 @

EvergreenHealth

12040 NE 128th

Kirkland WA 98034

Meet at 6:15 PM by the Café on the second floor of TAN

Bring friends and family! We will have an opportunity to speak directly to Hospital Commissioners during the public comment period and share why we need a fair contract and fair wages.

For additional information about this meeting or how you can get more involved, contact Union Representative Jack Crow @ (206) 436-6614.

MFused - Management Low Balled us on Wages

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MFused
Management Low Balled us on Wages

Our Union Bargaining Team met with Management on Tuesday, August 8 to continue negotiations. After over 3 months of meetings, Management finally gave us their economic proposals. They did nothing in their proposals to address equity pay, cost of living, and inflation in the city. In Seattle, while inflation is at 5.0%, they are only offering 3.0% wage increases. We know that pay rates are unequal and are currently all over the place for any given position and that needs to be fixed.

Lastly, Management outright rejected our proposal to separate vacation and sick time and countered with only 2-3 additional PTO days. They are proposing that 2 weeks total for sick and vacation time is more than enough for us all.

In the next few sessions, our Team will have to start making difficult decisions about our wages, benefits and working conditions that will last for years. We need your input before our next session on Tuesday, August 29!

Our bargaining team will be sending out a poll for the best time to discuss priorities and how we can win together!

WhidbeyHealth - Professional & Technical Unit Bargaining Update

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On Tuesday, August 8, our union Bargaining Team met with Management hoping to see their response to our comprehensive economic proposal we presented to them on July 26. Management was not prepared with a response on wages and showed an overall lack of willingness to move on other economic issues. When they informed us they would not have a counter proposal on wages that day, we asked for more bargaining dates. Unfortunately, their availability was limited to the end of August or beginning of September, so we will not return to the table until September 8, with a second session scheduled for September 13. 

“We are disappointed that Management came to bargaining unprepared after having nearly two weeks since our last bargaining session to craft a response.” 

— Jennifer MacNeill, Medical Technical Lead, Whidbey Health 

On Tuesday, August 15, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, our Bargaining Team will be holding a small event at City Beach in Oak Harbor (on the Starbucks side) to update interested members in-person on the bargaining process and ways to get involved and take action! We will have snacks and light refreshments and a drawing for surprise door prizes. Please RSVP with Union Representative Celia Ponce-Sanchez if possible by phone at (360) 409-0574 (but all are welcome!)

Join us on Tuesday, August 15!

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

City Beach in Oak Harbor (Starbucks side)

1600 S. Beeksma Drive

Oak Harbor, WA 98277

Bargaining Team: Jennifer MacNeill, Medical Technical Lead; Rosalie Nguyen, Pharmacy

Labcorp - Economics are on the table!

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Our Bargaining Team: Nancy Pyanowski, Kyle Chrisman, Sam McVay, Lisa Magee, Matt Noll, Shelby Tyner, Deborah Gibby

Last week, our LabCorp Union Bargaining Team gave wages, healthcare, and benefits proposals to management. We continued our deep discussion on staffing levels, recruitment and retention, and work volume, and pushed for collaborative strategies and solutions to these issues.  

The ball is in their court! We look forward to management’s comprehensive response and counterproposals at our next negotiation sessions on August 14.

Our fight isn’t just at the table. We know inflation and rising living costs are leaving LabCorp wages behind. To hire skilled and committed staff, and to retain our invaluable coworkers, LabCorp must invest in its workforce.

We’re standing together to say—the time for fair and competitive wages is NOW!

Sign the Petition

Join us for our upcoming virtual Contract Action Team meetings to discuss what’s going on at the table and what we can do to support our Bargaining Team in winning a strong contract!

Sunday, August 20 • 6:00PM - 7:00PM
Monday, August 21 • 11:30AM - 12:30PM

Find the Zoom meeting link to upcoming CAT meetings here! Also join us on Slack and Facebook!

Not getting updates? Update your contact info!

New member? Fill out your membership application!

If you have any questions, contact your Union Representative Christie Harris at (206) 436-6606.

PRMCE RN Bargaining Update

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On August 1, we had our ninth bargaining session since April 2023. Our Union Bargaining Team made a proposal which would ensure that PRMCE no longer lags behind other hospitals, like Swedish-Edmonds, and Overlake. The proposal also establishes a way to contractually enforce the new hospital Safe Staffing law that protects our patients and community.  

We are disappointed that Providence does not see the value in our proposals and continues to reject our staffing language and wage proposals.  

We are working with a federal mediator to secure more bargaining dates. We are still interested in bargaining in good faith, whether that is continuing with expedited bargaining or commencing incremental bargaining.  

The most important thing we can do now is stand united and spread the word to the community and patients. Please join us at one of the actions below:

September 21 Community Townhall
@ Everett Labor Temple 5pm-6pm - 2810 Lombard Ave. Everett 

Late August to September: Strike educational meetings for nurses 
August 27 Community Outreach @ Everett Farmers Market: 10:30am-12pm (meet at the corner of Pacific and Wetmore)   

August 17 AquaSox Union Solidarity Night Leaflet:
6pm-7pm (free tickets will be available to the game after the action, please RSVP with Anthony Cantu 206-436-6566) 

August 16 Community Townhall @ Everett Labor Temple:
5-6pm - 2810 Lombard Ave Everett 

August 6 Community Outreach @ Everett Farmers Market:
10:30am to 12pm (meet at the corner of Pacific and Wetmore)   

Show PRMCE that we are serious about our proposals and are willing to strike!

If you have not already signed the strike pledge, please click on the link PRMCE RN - I Promise to Take Action! >>

Also encourage your coworkers to update their information:
https://ufcw3000.org/update-your-information

Wage Comparison between PRMCE Management’s proposal vs. Overlake and Swedish Edmonds 

As you can see below PRMCE’s proposal keeps RNs wage rates behind Overlake through August 2024 and Swedish Edmonds through February 2025. Overlake and Swedish Edmonds will renegotiate their wages in 2024 and 2025 meaning the PRMCE RNs will be even more behind these two hospitals in 2024, 2025, and 2026 

Macy’s - NO PROGRESS AT THE TABLE

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Macy’s
NO PROGRESS AT THE TABLE

“Macy’s says they don’t understand our proposal for a living wage, so let’s take to the streets to explain!” – Nicole Hardin, Bargaining Team Member

Our Bargaining Team met with Management again on July 31, our first date with a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).

FMCS is a U.S. government agency that provides mediation and arbitration services to assist unions and Employers reach an agreement during contentious labor disputes. Since previous talks have been unfruitful, we believe that mediation is a necessary.

Our priorities were clearly articulated to the mediator, with a primary focus on:

  • Wage Increases: We are resolute in our demand for a fair general wage increase that accounts for historic inflation. We also want an extra wage boost for colleagues who have worked 10 or more years with the company.

  • Wage Scales: Maintaining and updating our wage scales is crucial to ensuring that our compensation remains competitive, but Macys wants them gone entirely!

  • Safety: It's a no-brainer—our workplace should be safe for everyone, whether you're a customer or a colleague. We're pushing for a contract that makes Macy's step up and make real changes to improve safety in the store.

  • Furniture Gallery Hours: We're still not happy about the late-night business hours. It's hurting our commissions, and we think it was a bad move.

Despite or Bargaining Team’s willingness to engage with Management, it seems like Management isn't quite on the same page. The Employer refused to even give us a counter proposal! This means that their previous supposal of a $0.35 general wage increase, coupled with a mere $0.10 for colleagues with 15 or more years of service, remains on the table.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We firmly believe that it is time to take action! Join your co-workers at the informational pickets on Friday, August 11,@ 2pm—4pm. Your participation will send a powerful message to the Employer that we stand together in solidarity for a fair and just contract.

In the event an agreement is not reached this month, we may need to proceed with a strike authorization vote in September. This is not a step our Bargaining Team takes lightly, but it is imperative that we remain steadfast in our pursuit of a contract that addresses our concerns.

I’LL BE THERE!
PICKET ACTION RSVP
bit.ly/macys-info-picket-23 >>

Card Kingdom - Ratification Notice! First Contract Ratified!

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On July 27, 2023, OUR first ever contract was RATIFIED!

Thank you for coming out, voting on OUR contract, and ensuring OUR voice is heard. No Kings, Only Solidarity!

Alongside Just Cause protections, we won raises, a labor management committee, and solidified benefits we already had. Our contract only gets stronger after each negotiation and the way we maintain a strong union is by your involvement. The fight for a first contract is a long and hard one and winning such a great contract shows the strength and solidarity our union had throughout the process.

“This is the first ever union in this industry and we’re proud to have built it alongside our coworkers. We can claim increased wages, tenure-based raises, and severance and relocation packages amongst our wins. It hasn’t always been easy, and it won’t ever be, but that’s what fighting for a contract and a union will always be. We look forward to its continuation into the future, wherever CK is, no matter if it’s in Monroe or Hell.”

— Jeff, Bargaining Team Member

If you are interested in becoming a steward, please take this survey to be on the list for the shop steward training!

Join our union and sign the membership application here!

If you have any questions, please reach out to your Union Representative, Dominick Ojeda at ​(206) 436-6586

PCC - Declaration Delivered!

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Our bargaining team met with PCC management on July 26 to respond to their earlier proposals and bring forward some of our own, including:

  • IMPROVING CAUCUS COMMITTEES: We proposed building more structure, efficiency and communication for all parties involved in the Worker Caucus Committees (WCC) to make them more effective.

  • EXPANDING LEAVE: We proposed an expansion of Leave of Absence (LOA) language so we get at least as much LOA time as other Union grocery store workers in the area—including staff with less than 18 months of service with PCC, who also need and deserve protected leave.

  • VACATION BIDDING & APPROVAL CHANGES: We reached a Tentative Agreement on an improved vacation bidding process and a clear timeline for approval!

We presented our Declaration of Demands signed by nearly 80% of PCC workers! Yasab, Marlin, and Allison of our Bargaining Comittee spoke to PCC representatives about the importance and strength of this petition.
 
Take action to build power in your workplace:

PRMCE RN - Mediation and Bargaining Update, August 1, 2023

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Yesterday, with our Federal Mediator, Providence continued to counter our proposals with little to no change.

WE ARE NOT AT AN IMPASSE in bargaining. After Providence stated at the table they believed we were at an impasse and we should end expedited bargaining, UFCW and our bargaining team requested to the mediator that we wanted another bargaining date! The mediator is working with both UFCW and Providence offline to figure out at a date that works for both parties and the Federal Mediator to go back to the table.

We continue to bargain in good faith and have been countering proposals while ensuring Nurses needs are MET. Safe staffing language and competitive wages are a priority to ensure we retain and recruit new nurses! We are working to schedule one more date with the mediator, and we are going to continue our actions and demonstrate our solidarity as a group.

August 3—5:30PM to 6:30PM Leaflet Action at Everett Marina Concert Series (park on Grand Ave or Everett Marina paid parking)

August 6—Everett Farmer’s Market Leaflet Action 10:30AM to 12PM (meet on Pacific and Wetmore)

August 16—Community Townhall with Nurses 5PM to 6PM Everett Labor Temple

August 17—AquaSox Game Leaflet Action and Union Solidarity Night 6PM to 7pm—Nurses are encouraged to bring friends/family (free tickets will be available to the game after the leaflet, please RSVP with Anthony Cantu 206-436-6566)

August 27—Everett Farmer’s Market 10:30AM to 12PM (meet on Pacific and Wetmore)Nurses, be on the lookout for a detailed counter proposal from your UFCW bargaining team similar to Providence’s proposal that was printed last week!

“Providence is daring us to strike. If we are not willing to show our striking power we will be forced to take the deal they have offered. The worst thing that can happen will not be a strike, the worst thing is we accept a bad deal and we lose a huge chunk of our remaining staff. We are asking for a reasonable contract we are not asking for a 157% pay increase like Rod Hochman CEO of Providence got. We are asking for consistent pay increases throughout the contract to keep us competitive with Overlake and Swedish. We are asking for strong staffing language to hold Providence accountable when we take 6,7, or more patients.

— Trevor Gjendum

Sign the Strike Pledge Card!

Planned Parenthood Bargaining Update

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Today our Union Bargaining Team proposed good faith non-economic counters to Planned Parenthood. We were hopeful to receive Planned Parenthoods’ counter on non-economics today, however Planned Parenthood countered instead with their economic proposal. In this economic counter, Planned Parenthood proposed a non-equitable new system that would not include annual raises and only a one-time equity bump. We will have a counter on economics to Planned Parenthood at our next session on August 9 but will not counter until they respond to our final non-economics. We want to ensure our staffing language and Labor Management Committee (LMC) proposals are responded to in good faith, instead of what Planned Parenthood is doing which is ignoring our counters.

Planned Parenthood is continuing to propose Force Majeure, this would allow them to not follow the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in the event of anything they deem a natural disaster/pandemic. We believe YOU should be protected with your CBA, no matter what happens.

“Time is precious and our families can’t afford to wait!” — Monalisa Bauman

EvergreenHealth Kirkland - Bargaining Continues—Not Where We Need to Be Yet

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We bargained with Management on July 25 and 26. Management has increased their wage offer but we’re not where we need to be yet. They feel they have already given us a wage increase in 2023 so they don’t need to give us anymore.

The overall tone of bargaining seems different than in prior years. Management seems antagonistic. Although we have discussed the reasoning for our proposals, management’s response has been NO on several things. Unfortunately, Management doesn’t seem interested in engaging fully with us on our issues and seems more focused on our differences.

Bargaining continues next week and we invite you to drop in afterwards and talk with the bargaining team:

  • Monday, August 7

  • 5:00PM—6:00PM

  • EvergreenHealth Kirkland

  • 12040 NE 128th Street

  • Kirkland WA 98034

  • Room TAN 134

For additional information, contact Union Representative Jack Crow at 206-436-6614

Saint Anne Hospital Bargaining Update

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On July 18 and July 26, our Union Bargaining Team met with the Employer’s team. We submitted proposals that would increase Union Representatives’ access to employees at the worksite. Increasing access to Union representation allows us to have our issues addressed right at the worksite. We also proposed increasing the timeline to submit a grievance. Increasing the timeline to file grievances gives us adequate time to investigate issues and file solid grievance in a timely manner.

We proposed language to protect Seniority during layoffs and low census for bargaining unit members. We also submitted language to prevent travelers from preempting students and new hires.

Management has yet to respond to our proposals. We expect to see progress on the Management side at our next bargaining session on August 6, 2023.

Contract Action Team Meeting!

Join our next Membership meeting and learn about becoming more involved in bargaining as a Contract Action Team Member. Our next Membership Meeting will be August 9, 2023 at 6:00pm at the UFCW Des Moines office, 23040 Pacific Hwy S. Suite 101, Des Moines, WA

If you have questions or need assistance contact Union Representative Jack Crow at 206-436-6614

PRMCE RN - Bargaining Update

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On July 27, we held a banner and leaflet action at the Everett Marina Concert Series. We spoke with community members and asked them to send an email to the Providence General Foundation-Everett. The email calls out the staffing crisis at the Hospital and demanding that the Foundation hold Hospital Administration accountable for their lack of collaboration around staffing issues at the bargaining table. Please encourage your friends and family to send an email to the Foundation:

>> Share this link! Stand with Providence Everett RNs

Also members of the Everett City Councilmembers and Snohomish County Board of Health will be writing a letter to Hospital Administration and the Foundation supporting our contract negotiations! The community and elected officials support our efforts for safe staffing! 

Response to the CNO’s email: On August 1st we will have a second day of contract negotiations with a federal mediator. Our first mediation session resulted in a rejection on our staffing language and a wage proposal which still puts us dollars behind Swedish, Overlake, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Evergreen. A 19.4% increase (divided in multiple increases from 2023 to 2026) will not be enough to remain competitive with other hospitals in the area! 

It has also come to our attention that Hospital Management has published their contract proposals and indicated if the proposals are tentative agreements (meaning Management and the nurse bargaining team have mutually agreed). We believe this is a tactic to frustrate the bargaining process and cause confusion. We will be sending out a version of our full proposal next week so nurses can read through all of our proposals and we can discuss them together. 

WA State Sick Leave accruals: Under WA’s Paid Sick Leave law, employers are supposed to record WA State sick time. Although PRMCE nurses accrue PTO and EIB, you should have a line item on your paystub or on the employee portal showing how much PTO is considered “WA State Sick Leave.” We have asked Providence to comply with the law so nurses know how much protect sick leave time they have available, but Providence has denied our request. We filed a grievance in May to resolve this issue and will also address this issue in negotiations.  

Incentive Pay: In the past the Hospital and UFCW 3000 agreed that nurses would receive time and a half or double time pay if they worked an extra shift beyond their FTE. An issue that arose is that nurses who called out sick and used “protected sick leave”, per the WA Paid Sick Leave law, were denied incentive pay. In February 2023, we told Providence that this was discriminatory, and these nurses should receive the incentive pay. Providence originally rejected our request but has changed their position. They are now providing incentive pay to nurses who call out sick for an extra shift, but use “protect sick time.” 

We are unsure how long Providence will continue providing incentive pay but we are requesting at the bargaining table that incentive pay be part of the union contract. Currently Providence Centralia and Providence St. Peter’s (Olympia) have incentive pay in their contract. 

We need to show PRMCE that we are serious about our proposals and are willing to strike! If you have not already signed the strike pledge, please click on the link below!

>> Sign the Strike Pledge! PRMCE RN - I Promise to Take Action

Also encourage your coworkers to update their information:

>> Update Your Information!

Below are the current articles that are open and our last session prior to mediation proposals: 

Article 2 Union Matters—union security, Providence must provide personal emails for each nurse (if available) 

Article 4 Union Representation—union representatives will have access to all unit conference rooms, Providence will ensure that two bargaining committee members per unit will have their shifts covered in order to attend negotiations 

Article 6 Employment Practices—a nurse may request for a written warning to be removed from their file if the discipline is 18 months old, documented coachings/counselings shall be removed from a nurse’s file, upon request, after 9 months

Staffing—additional $5/ hour per shift to nurses if their unit falls below the staffing plan for their unit plus major improvements to the staffing committee agenda like reviewing nurse exit interviews and addressing acute staffing issues immediately

Article 7 Seniority—a new list for skill departments to reflect current department breakdown, Providence will notify nurses of recall via email and mail

Article 8 Hours of Work and Overtime—double time pay for nurses on standby on holidays, travelers will be low censused first and then agency nurses, 12 break relief nurses, per diem nurses minimum shift scheduling

Article 9 Compensation—Nurses will need to work 1,664 hours instead of 1,872 hours to advance to their next step increase. $3.00 Evening shift differential and $6.50 Night shift differential. After 24 months of working on third shift, nurses shall receive an additional $3/ hour in addition to their shift differential. Standby on-call pay of $7/ hour. Float Pool/Resource Team pay of $5. Increased premium for preceptors to $2.00 to train the nurses we desperately need. Expanded holiday pay for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for night shift nurses. $800 Standby Bonus for nurses who work more than 500 standby hours each calendar year, $1100 standby bonus for nurses who work more than 800 standby hours in a half year, $1250 for nurses who work more than 1100 standby hours in a half year

Wages—Step increments between steps would be an average of 2.5%. Currently the step increments vary between step. Increase base to Swedish’s base rate of $42.22 on June 1, 2023. The new wage table would range from $42.22 (Base)  80.55 (Step 35). November 1, 2023 8.25% increase, 2024 5% increase, 2025 6.5% increase

Article 15 Committees—Staffing Committee would reflect the new staffing law, which means if the Hospital violates this article we can file a grievance and take the grievance to arbitration if necessary. Additionally if the staffing plan is not adhered to by a margin of 85% and a nurse works on their day off, .9 to 1.0 FTE nurses shall receive double time pay and .5 to .89 FTE nurses shall receive 1.5 time pay for all time worked up to 40 hours (these nurses will receive double time for work beyond 40 hours)

Article 16 Nursing Education/License—Increasing education leave hours to 40 (prorated by FTE), increasing education dollars, and tuition reimbursement of $5,250 for all nurses with a .75 FTE or above

PRMCE RN Bargaining Team—Trevor Gjendem, Juan Stout, Carrie Rimel, Kelli Johnson, Stephanie Sausman, Julie Byum, Kristen Crowder (not pictured) (Top left to bottom right) 

Upcoming Actions

August 1—Negotiations with Providence Everett Management 

August 3—5:30pm to 6:30pm Leaflet Action at Everett Marina Concert Series (park on Grand Ave or Everett Marina paid parking)

August 6—Everett Farmer’s Market Leaflet Action 10:30am to 12pm (meet on Pacific and Wetmore) 

August 16—Community Townhall with Nurses 5pm to 6pm Everett Labor Temple 

August 17—AquaSox Game Leaflet Action 6pm to 7pm- Nurses are encouraged to bring friends/family (free tickets will be available to the game after the leaflet, please RSVP with Anthony Cantu 206-436-6566) 

August 27—Everett Farmer’s Market 10:30am to 12pm (meet on Pacific and Wetmore)

WhidbeyHealth Pro-Tech & LPN - Positive Progress on Non-Economics

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On Wednesday, July 26, our bargaining team got tentative agreements on almost all non-economics—including strong language on non-discrimination, as well as language stating that we only have to give 14 days-notice for resignation instead of 21 days.

We proposed our economic proposals today and expect to hear back with counters from WhidbeyHealth at our next bargaining session on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. We asked for significant across the board increases, language on experience for experience, stronger over-time language, higher differentials and more. We are hopeful that WhidbeyHealth will continue to bargain in good faith and understand that patient safety means we need higher-wages to retain and recruit more staff!

Our Bargaining Team: Rosalie Nguyen, Pharmacy; Jennifer MaCNeill, Lab