EvergreenHealth Monroe - Vote on wage increases

EvergreenHealth Monroe
VOTE ON WAGE INCREASES

After several months of bargaining, we are getting closer to reaching an agreement on a contract that will address our concerns and ensure EvergreenHealth Monroe is competitive with neighboring healthcare facilities.

While we are not finished with contract negotiations, our Union Bargaining Team believes that we urgently need wage increases to deal with our retention and recruitment issues. Management has agreed to pay their latest wage offer before we reach a settlement of the entire contract.

We have scheduled a vote on the proposed mid-cycle wage increase so that our wages can be increased now. However, we have made it clear to Management that we are not done! We will continue to bargain for additional wages and other benefits and will schedule another vote once we have reached a complete agreement on our new contract.

Our Union bargaining team recommends a “YES” vote on this mid-cycle wage increase!

Tuesday, May 2
Drop in between 7AM—9AM or 3PM—7PM
EvergreenHealth Monroe - Cafe Corner (cafeteria), 14701 179th Ave SE, Monroe, WA 98272

Our Bargaining Team: Rosemary Holms-Mitchell, Substance Use Disorder Family Counselor; Patty Romero, Surgical Tech

Questions? Reach out to a Bargaining Team member OR call Union Rep Jack Crow @ 206-436-6614

Tri-Cities Community Health RN Bargaining Update

Tri-Cities Community Health RNs

Bargaining Continues

Our Union Bargaining Team met with the Employers’ over four very productive negotiation sessions. We have been discussing multiple proposals at the table but are focusing on: job security, working conditions, and compensation while making sure that we protect the benefits we currently have.

“We addressed multiple issues with responses from TCCH. We achieved Tentative Agreements on several articles. Building a brand-new 1st contract is an exciting but laborious experience.” — Karen Engel RN, Auburn campus

“I’m excited that finally us nurses will have a voice and hold management accountable. The union will help us establish a better work environment.” — Sophia Rubalcava RN, Court St. campus

“Nurses will finally have a voice. Being a bilingual nurse should be a benefit, however it feels like a punishment, managers would expect me to do many more responsibilities when I worked with 5 providers. Now I will be able to speak up and address my concerns for equitable treatment because I now have the union’s support.” — Hilda Torres RN, Court St. campus

Our next bargaining session will be May 11, 2023.

Please reach out to one of our Union Bargaining Team members or our Union Rep. Juanita Quezada at 509-340-7407 with any questions or concerns.

St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical) - Tentative Agreement Reached - Vote Schedule

St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical)
Tentative Agreement Reached
Vote Scheduled

Our Union Bargaining Team is excited to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement with the Employer on a new collective bargaining agreement!

The proposed agreement includes:

• A completely revamped wage scale with no ghost steps

• Historic wage increases for all job classifications

• Unprecedented $1.00/hr increase to standby pay

• Improved contract language on many important issues such as low census, preceptor, certification pay, grievances, discipline

• And much more!

More details, including copies of the entire proposed contract, will be available at the ratification vote:

Tuesday, May 2
8AM—10AM | 12PM—2PM | 4PM—6:30PM

St. Joseph Medical Center – Dining Room 3 (Cafeteria)
1717 S J St, Tacoma, WA 98405

Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

Sunrise Dental - Bargaining Continues

Sunrise Dental
Bargaining Continues

After two bargaining sessions, Management says everyone is happy and nothing needs to be improved.

When our Bargaining Team proposed increasing the number of paid holidays, Management said they were not interested.

We deserve higher pay, but Management says:

“We are paying higher than the contract, so don’t need to change wages by very much.”

YOUR OPINION MATTERS!
Reach out and share your thoughts with your Union Rep.

Bonney Lake, Olympia, Tacoma
Kristina Wood 206-436-6598

Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Lakewood, Maple Valley, Renton, SeaTac, Tukwila
Christie Harris 206-436-6606

Gig Harbor, Sequim, Poulsbo, Silverdale
Ryan Degouveia 360-662-1989

Arlington, Bothell/Mill Creek, Everett, Marysville, Monroe, Shoreline, Ballard, Bellevue, Carnation, Issaquah, Redmond
Jack Crow 206-436-6614

Lynnwood
Celia Ponce-Sanchez 360-419-4678

Sunrise Dental Bargaining Team: Mark Jafari, Accountant; Linda Thomas, Dental Assistant

PRMCE RN Pro Tech We need a better incentive shift program!

Providence Everett RN, Pro & Tech

We need a better incentive shift program!

In March, we told Providence Everett that we wanted to modify the incentive shift letter of understanding (LOU) for the Pros, Techs, and RNs.

We believe that Providence Everett should count “safe sick” time towards our FTEs to qualify for the incentive shift program. This would be following state law and would make eligible more Pros, Tech, and RNs for these incentive shifts. Providence Everett has rejected our proposal and released the LOUs to all units even though we have not agreed to them!

At this time, we have not signed any LOU and will be working with all three bargaining units to create a better incentive program which increases staffing and benefits patients.

If your unit is offering an incentive shift, please let your union Rep know. Anthony Cantu (RNs) 206-436-6566 and Jack Crow (Pros and Techs) at 206-436-6614.

VMFH St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical) - Bargaining Continues

VMFH St. Joseph Medical Center (Technical)
Bargaining Continues

Our Union Bargaining Team met with St. Joseph Medical Center Management again on March 2, 17, 24, 28 and 30 to continue negotiations for our successor contract.

We continue to make remarkable progress this bargaining cycle with many important issues resolved in record time. Tentative agreements include improved language on:

• Union Rep access to the medical center

• New hire orientation (NEO)

• Preceptor

• Discipline / personnel files

• Donning & doffing

• Layoff

• Low Census

• Shift differential

• Certification pay

• Bereavement leave

• Grievance

• Successorship

• And much more!

However, we have yet to reach an agreement on wages, healthcare, standby/call, and other differentials. Wages are the biggest hold up because we are working on designing an entirely new wage scale that eliminates ghost steps (years with a 0% increase) and enables members to get to the top of the wage scale earlier in their career.

While the Employer has agreed conceptually to our proposal, we remain apart on the scale cadence (increases between steps, how members progress up the scale). There are significant implications with the proposed changes to our wage scale and our Bargaining Team wants to thoughtfully review each proposal from the Employer to ensure that everyone will receive a fair market competitive wage increase.

While we hoped to have an agreement before contract expiration (April 1), the complexities of the proposed scale changes have caused necessary delays in the process. In the meantime, we have signed a contract extension agreement through the end of this month to ensure that all our contractual benefits and protections continue as we move forward with negotiations.

We also continued to discuss the concerning developments regarding the mass exodus of anesthesiologist and the impact on our members ability to work. Unfortunately, we have not received any firm answers from the Employer on how this issue will be resolved. Our Bargaining Team will continue challenging Management on this issue until we have the answers we need.

We are scheduled to meet with the Employer again tomorrow for a marathon session. It is possible that we’ll have a tentative agreement and subsequent vote after tomorrow, however, that will only happen if the offer on the table meets the needs of all bargaining unit members.

“We are fighting to ensure that EVERY member will receive a fair wage increase with our new contract!”

—St. Joseph Medical Center Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

Lourdes Counseling Center - Per Diem - Tentative agreement reached

Lourdes Counseling Center - Per Diem
Tentative agreement reached

There will be a vote for all per diem employees to review and vote on our new contract Tuesday, April 18 @ 11am—1pm in the large conference room.

Our contract includes job security, guaranteed wage increases each year, grievance process, and more!

All documents will be available at the vote and Union Reps will be there to answer any questions you may have.

QUESTIONS? Please contact Union Rep Juanita Quezada @ 509-340-7407.

EvergreenHealth Kirkland - UFCW 3000 Bargaining Team Meets With Evergreen Management!

It’s time for change. We feel unappreciated, underpaid and understaffed. 

Our Union Bargaining Team met Friday, March 31 and made initial non-economic proposals. Management did not respond to any proposals made, but committed to review. 

We are scheduled to bargain again on April 12. The Bargaining Team is now focused on fine-tuning economic proposals in anticipation of our next session. 

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Meet Our Union Bargaining Team:

Front Row: Kim Mitchell, Labor and Delivery Surg Tech; Justy Hedrick, CT Tech; Desiree Huttinger, Cardiology Tech; Back Row: Jack Crow, UFCW 3000 Rep.; Jennifer Bradshaw, Mammo Tech; David Dimalanta, Rad Tech; Chris Dizon, Echo Tech; James Kerr, OR Surg Tech. Not Pictured: Anna Hennager, Respiratory Care; Kevin Daly, Lab Med Tech

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“If you have any issues, come to me and I will do my best to bring your thoughts to the Bargaining Team. I’m always willing to facilitate ideas.”

— DAVID DIMALANTA, Surg Tech, 8 years

“I wanted to be on the Bargaining Team because I want to help my team. We started to fall apart when we went through Covid. We need to focus more on retention. The hospital could do a better job and that is what I am hoping for.”

— JUSTY HEDRICK, CT Tech, 5 years

“Now is such an important time. There are so many things that we need, and I wanted to be on the Bargaining Team to make sure our department is represented. I didn’t want to let my coworkers down.”

— DESIREE HUTTINGER, Cardiology Tech, 12 years

“I was on the Bargaining Team last contract, and it was a lot of fun. I never realized how much goes into it. It helped me to have a better understanding of the contract itself.”

— ANNA HANNAGER, Respiratory Care Practitioner, 7 years

“I come from Wyoming and Idaho, and I cannot stress enough how much better the benefits are in Washington than over there. That has a lot to do with the Union and the market that we are in. Having a say in how you’re treated at work through the Union helps tremendously. If you come from a right to work state, like Wyoming or Idaho, it’s hard to get any kind of concession from Management on anything. That’s why I am here. I have experienced the other side of the coin. The Union makes a difference.”

—  KEVIN DALY, Lab Med Tech, 12 years 

“I want to be involved in making changes and improving things at Evergreen. I don’t want to just be a grumbling voice. I want to feel like when I go home at the end of the day that I was able to give good patient care. I don’t always feel that. It is something that has been an issue the last couple of years.”  

— JENNIFER BRADSHAW, Mammography Tech, 17 years 

“I feel proud to say I am a healthcare worker. But I have seen and experienced first-hand how important it is to have representation and make sure everyone is treated fairly. That’s why I wanted to be a part of the Bargaining Team.”

—  KIM MITCHELL, Labor and Delivery Surg Tech, 2 years

“I’ve been in this field for 14 years now, and I’ve been around enough hospitals to know what works and what doesn’t. I joined the Bargaining Team because I was hoping to influence some of those positive changes for the hospital.”

—  CHRIS DIZON, Echo Tech, 2 years

“There hasn’t been a surg tech on the Bargaining Team for the last two contracts and it’s time we had someone. A lot of folks don’t understand what goes into our job, and they don’t understand the responsibilities that go into our position.”

—   JAMES KERR, OR Surg Tech, 8 years

Washington State House Passes Safe Staffing Bill — Next Up, the Governor’s Desk!

Today the House passed the healthcare staffing bill (ESSB 5236), the final legislative hurdle in a long process, to begin addressing the ongoing hospital staffing crisis this legislative session. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.

We would not have gotten this bill through the Legislature without the countless members like you who sent in selfies, signed in “pro” on bills, contacted your legislators, testified in hearings, and so much more. The voices of healthcare workers at the bedside pushed the State Senate to go farther down the path toward safe staffing than ever before.

ESSB 5236 reflects a compromise between SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, UFCW 3000, the Washington State Nurses Association and the Washington State Hospital Association. The final compromise will strengthen accountability to staffing plans and allow for corrective action by state agencies if necessary up to and including enforcing safe staffing standards on hospitals. It represents a meaningful step toward safe staffing.

The final bill:

• Strengthens accountability to hospital staffing plans. If hospitals fall below 80 percent compliance with their staffing plans, they are required to report noncompliance to the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). Noncompliant hospitals will be assigned a corrective action plan by L&I and DOH, which may include elements like safe staffing standards set by L&I that the hospital will have to follow.

• Expands meal and rest break laws to include all frontline staff, closes loopholes to make mandatory overtime laws fully enforceable, and ensures hospitals follow the law. If there are more than 20 percent of breaks missed in a month, L&I will issue escalating penalties.

• Funds the WA State Institute for Public Policy to conduct a study of existing staffing plans to establish what’s actually happening in WA hospitals and compare them to elsewhere. This study would set a baseline understanding of the staffing crisis in WA by a credible, nonpartisan source, and provide a benchmark against California and professional association standards for staffing levels, which is critical for continued work to ensure safe staffing in Washington.

After the Governor signs the bill, we will turn to implementation and enforcement. We will be reaching out about plans to educate members – particularly members of staffing committees – on the elements of the bill.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: St. Michael Medical Center Bargaining Team

Susan Mayer, Pamela Reese, Vanessa RosaDino, and Christy Sammons

The bargaining team at Saint Michael Medical Center has been meeting with the Employer for over a month to negotiate a new contract working conditions for themselves and their coworkers. The bargain is now well into the economic parts of the agreement, and the committee is learning fast that their employer, Catholic Health Initiatives, needs to not just hear from them, but from everyone working at St. Michael Medical Center.

So, Susan, Pamela, Vanessa, and Christy are talking to their coworkers and collecting stories to share at the bargaining table about what would make their workplace better, and what effect of management’s proposals would have; because an injury to one is an injury to all.

EvergreenHealth Kirkland and Clinics - Bargaining Begins

EvergreenHealth Kirkland and Clinics
Bargaining Begins

After months of trying to schedule dates to negotiate for our new contract, we have confirmed that our first bargaining session with Management will be on Friday, March 31. Additional dates scheduled for bargaining are April 12 and April 28.

Our Bargaining Team is busy reviewing the contract and writing proposals. We heard loud and clear that workers want competitive wages and benefits, improved staffing and a voice in the workplace!

Stay tuned!
Look out for upcoming meeting information for updates on our contract negotiations.

If you are not receiving bargaining updates, scan or go to: ufcw3000.org/update-your-information

EvergreenHealth Kirkland and Clinics Bargaining Team: Jennifer Bradshaw, mammography; Chris Dizon, echocardiology; Kevin Daly, laboratory; David Dimalanta, radiology; Desiree Huttinger, cardiology; Anna Goodsell Hennager, respiratory; Justine Hedrick, CT scanning; James Kerr, surgery/OR; Kimberly Mitchell, labor and delivery

Questions? Please contact Union Rep Jack Crow @ 206-436-6614.

Northwest Center - We’re Excited for bargaining to begin!

Northwest Center
We’re Excited for bargaining to begin

United in our determination to better advocate for ourselves, our families and kiddos, we are excited to join UFCW 3000 union. With an eye toward having a larger voice on issues and ways to deliver the best care to our families and kiddos.

Last week we had our first meeting as a Bargaining Team to commence writing proposals for our very first contract. We worked on language that will help us get higher wages, better benefits, foster a safe and healthy working environment, improve safe staffing standards, and conditions that will reduce burnout and ensure safe, manageable work.

“It’s thrilling to start making this dream a reality! It’s empowering to take all this knowledge we have and finally put it down in a contract that works for us! We’re changing how birth to three services are represented - and being a part of that change is exhilarating!” - Jenica Barrett, Speech Language Pathologist, Bargaining Team

"It’s inspiring to work with such a passionate group of people and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together!" - Kimmy Burns, Physical Therapist, Bargaining Team

"I’m excited to stand together in uplifting our collective voice and making a positive change!" - Cassie Villarreal, Speech Language Pathologist, Bargaining Team

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Holly Purcell

Holly Pursell with her family in Port Angeles

Planned Parenthood medical assistant Holly Purcell in her own words about working at her clinic in Port Angeles:

“I have always been a big supporter of Planned Parenthood.  They helped me with some of my healthcare needs when I was younger and living out on the East coast. Their mission and work are so valuable and offer a much-needed service to many people across the country. When I saw that Planned Parenthood had a job posting for a medical assistant in 2017, I knew I had to apply. I’ve been working for Planned Parenthood ever since and enjoy my job tremendously. It’s such a rewarding feeling knowing that you are helping your community. The Port Angeles team is small but mighty! It consists of myself, a medical receptionist, a clinician, and a health center manager. We have all been working together for a long time and we treat each other like family. They have been there for me during some of my toughest times.”

Holly and her husband have loved and fostered many children since marrying in 2012 and have adopted 3 of them, creating their family. Their family enjoys their many pets which include a cat, two lizards, three dogs, and five fish. Wow!

St. Joseph Medical Center Technical - Bargaining Continues

“Progress at the bargaining table has moved at unprecedented speed! However, important issues such as call/standby remain unresolved.”

Our Bargaining Team: Vanessa Giles (Surgical Tech), Kat Wood (Radiology Tech), Michelle Gilmore (Respiratory Therapist), Monica DeWitt (Pharmacy Tech), Sissy Allison (Surgical Tech)

Our Union Bargaining Team met with St. Joseph Medical Center management again on February 22, 23 and March 2 to continue negotiations for our successor contract.

Understanding the need for swift action to stay competitive, contract negotiations began earlier than ever before. The employer, in their own proposals, quickly demonstrated that they shared our Bargaining Team’s sense of urgency to make changes to help recruit and retain high quality staff.

That doesn’t mean that we can only focus on wages and overlook the other important issues we face for the sake of speed. The Bargaining Team has been working to address other issues such as low census, the overuse of travelers, posting of FTE’s where needed, our slow grievance process, and much more.

We have made significant progress on the above issues, which is why our Bargaining Team decided to give management our initial economic proposal on February 23. We crafted our proposal after conducting a comprehensive market analysis that included a review of competitors such as MultiCare Tacoma General, Providence St. Peters, UW Valley Medical Center, and Swedish Medical Center.

One of the major factors considered was MultiCare’s move to eliminate all ghost steps (years with 0% increases) during their last round of negotiations. This has made it difficult for St. Joseph Medical Center to recruit and retain staff when healthcare workers know they can move down the street and get paid higher, years earlier than under our current wage structure. Thankfully, the employer agreed with our Bargaining Team’s assessment and has agreed with our proposal to eliminate all ghost steps! However, management’s plan to eliminate ghost steps is different from the Union’s, so more time will be needed to reconcile our differences.

We have also been holding management accountable to the concerning exodus of Anesthesiologist, which are required for many departments to function. Our Bargaining Team has brought the issue up at EVERY bargaining session with management reassuring us that the issue is being handled and that there is nothing to worry about. However, we haven’t seen any substantive changes that indicate that the issue has been resolved, so we will continue to discuss this issue at the bargaining table until we are confident the hospital has a good plan to handle the matter.

Our Bargaining Team will meet with management again on March 17, 24, 28 and 30 with our contract scheduled to expire on April 1. Stay tuned for further updates as bargaining progresses.

UFCW 3000 Member Story: Krystal Krotzer

Krystal Krotzer beams over the win of retro pay for her and her coworkers!

Shop steward Krystal Krotzer works as a pharmacy tech for Kaiser Permanente in Spokane. As a leader, Krystal took on an arduous fight with her union rep to get Kaiser to make good on owed retroactive pay dating back to December 2021. She helped gather evidence for the group grievance and didn’t give up until her coworkers got paid. Moving forward Krystal’s stewardship will be much appreciated by her fellow Kaiser union members. Good work Krystal!

Safe Staffing Bill SB 5236 Passes Senate Ways & Means Committee

We’re writing with an update on the progress of Senate Bill 5236 – our bill to create safe staffing standards in Washington.

Last Friday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee voted to pass an amended version of SB 5236. It is worth celebrating that this bill is continuing to move forward through the legislative process, even as we know the fight for a strong version with meaningful enforcement provisions is ongoing. At this point, a few senators have prevented us from implementing statewide safe staffing standards across the board as initially proposed. Despite this, the committee did amend SB 5236 to strengthen staffing committees and improve enforcement, setting a solid foundation for us to keep fighting for safe staffing standards. We’re confident this agreement gets us closer to enforceable staffing standards by establishing penalties for hospitals that continue to violate staffing plans, and under the amended bill, if hospitals continue those violations, they would be subject to Labor and Industries’ strict enforcement of safe staffing standards.

The most important thing for all healthcare workers to know is that negotiations at the Capitol around this bill – what staffing standards and enforcement will look like – are ongoing as we speak, and state senators need to hear loud and clear from their constituents that this bill should stay as strong as possible. 

There is still time for hospital lobbyists to try to weaken the bill, but that means there is also time for us to make our voices heard. Contacting your senator, and encouraging your coworkers, family, friends, and community to do so as well, is the main way we can keep up the pressure. Share your experiences with short-staffing and what it means for your patients. Let them know what the current lack of accountability around staffing plans looks like day to day. Make it clear that their constituents are paying attention and demanding action.

• Contact your state senator directly–find their name and contact information here.

• Or leave a voice message for your state senator via the legislative hotline: 1-800-562-6000.

Our next hurdle will be to get SB 5236 passed off the Senate floor by March 8th. We thank Sen. June Robinson for being our legislative champion on behalf of Washington’s healthcare workers and Sen. Christine Rolfes, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee, for keeping the focus on this bill until it was voted out of committee.

Your work and advocacy up to this point have been invaluable. We encourage you to continue reaching out to your Legislators to urge them to pass SB 5236.

We’re Telling Our Legislators: Safe Staffing Standards Can’t Wait

After supporting our communities through three years of a pandemic, staffing in our hospitals is worse than ever. We know we don’t have a shortage of healthcare workers; we have a shortage of healthcare workers who are willing to work in these conditions. That’s why we’re calling on the legislature to pass a comprehensive law that puts patient safety and healthcare workers first.

Senate Bill 5236 calling for safe staffing standards was introduced in the Washington State legislature and had its first public hearing Jan. 17. The bill includes:

• Safe staffing standards including maximum patient assignments

• Adequate enforcement of staffing laws

• Expanded protections for overtime and breaks

• Protecting our rights to staffing committees and expanding them to be inclusive of the entire care team

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Healthcare workers’ voices are critical!

Email your legislator. As constituents and union members, we know that direct communication with our elected representatives is one of the most effective ways to advocate for change. Send a message using our online advocacy tool:

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IN OLYMPIA:

The state Senate Committee on Labor and Commerce heard public testimony in support of SB 5236

“Less than one year ago I provided testimony on HB 1868 hoping this state would pass a law ensuring nurses and patients had safe healthcare environments – instead, staffing got worse. Not because this state isn’t educating enough nurses. The shortage is not nurses, the shortage is safe work environments. No amount of money can keep nurses repeatedly experiencing moral injury and burnout.” - Kelli Johnson, RN, Providence Regional Medical Center, Everett

“I have served on the staffing committee at our hospital for many years and have chaired that committee for the last year and a half. I am here to tell you it is infuriating to sit in committee month after month, year after year and see how our staffing guidelines are breached every single day on many units a day leaving nurses in untenable, dangerous and heartbreaking situations.” - Nonie Kingma, RN, Sacred Heart Hospital, Spokane

“Implementing safe staffing standards in every Washington hospital is the one thing that will make patient care safe again and keep healthcare workers like me at the bedside. Patient care is devastated, and that’s devastating for those of us at the bedside. Where I work, folks’ fingers are on the send button to resign. They are ready to move to outpatient care, retire — frankly, anything else. This bill makes working in a hospital safe again. This bill is what will keep and bring healthcare workers back to the beside.” - Melissa Swetland Leaptrot, RN, St. Anne Hospital, Burien

Senate Hearing on Safe Staffing Law a Huge Success!

Watch UFCW 3000 member Kelli Johnson, Providence Everett ER nurse, speak to state senators about the importance of safe staffing standards.

This week UFCW 3000 members and our allies at SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and WSNA, along with community supporters, made our presence known at the State Capitol during a state senate hearing on Safe Staffing bill SB 5236. Health care workers testified during the committee hearing and met with lawmakers to ensure they know how desperate the staffing crisis is—and how important it is to pass statewide safe staffing standards now.

“Less than one year ago I provided testimony on House Bill 1868 hoping the state would pass a law ensuring nurses and patients have a safe healthcare environment. Instead, staffing got worse,” said UFCW 3000 member and Providence Everett emergency RN Kelli Johnson to the senate committee. “The shortage is not nurses, the shortage is safe work environments. No amount of money can keep nurses repeatedly experiencing moral injury and burnout, two of the top three reasons nurses leave the profession.”

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We are not alone: Firefighters, mental health advocates, rare disease patient advocates, and others also testified in support. And more than 2,000 people signed in “Pro” in support of the bill, more than twice as many as those opposed!

Take action to support SB 5236:

Safe Staffing Bill Scheduled for a Hearing

This week the coalition of healthcare workers from UFCW 3000, WSNA, and SEIU 1199NW, relaunched the WA Safe + Healthy campaign and Senate Bill 5236 to pass safe staffing standards to address the worsening hospital staffing crisis.

Please join healthcare workers from across the state for our first hearing in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee scheduled for:

Tuesday, January 17 @ 10:30AM
Washington State Capitol - Senate Hearing Rm 1
John A. Cherberg Building and Virtual

(John A. Cherberg Building to the Capitol map link HERE)

Even if you are unable to testify in committee due to time constraints or distance, there are several other ways for members of the Senate Labor Committee hear from you about how unsafe staffing levels have impacted you, your patients, colleagues, and communities across the state.

The more healthcare workers and community our elected leaders hear from, the more likely they are to pass this critical legislation! Next week we will be wearing stickers in the worksites to show our support for safe staffing. Your Union Representatives will be in touch and getting those to workplace leaders for distribution.

Questions, or to get involved in helping lead the fight for safe staffing, please reach out to your Union Representative.