PRMCE RNs - We have NOT reached a tentative agreement

Our last bargaining session with PRMCE was on May 11. Since that session we have not received a response from PRMCE for new bargaining dates. We are committed to continuing negotiations as soon as possible! Every day our staffing assignments get harder due to nurses resigning and hundreds of vacancies. Since the start of bargaining we have told the Hospital that we need to resolve this staffing crisis through competitive wages and better staffing language. The contract that our Union Bargaining Team proposed attempts to address retention and recruitment of nurses. We recognize the staffing issues we face at PRMCE need to be addressed with a comprehensive multi-action approach.

Below are a few of the proposals the RN team made in our last session. Some of these proposals the Hospital agreed to or proposed a lesser version of:

1. Hazard pay of $12 for emergent circumstances (like declared state of emergency)

2. Staffing: if a unit is staffed less than 90% of the unit’s staffing plan, the nurses on that unit will receive $5/hour premium

3. Break relief nurses for every unit

4. Internal equity: if a new employee is hired into a pay level greater than the  employee’s experience the entire pay range will be adjusted to reflect the placement of the new hire. Example: if the new hire should be on Step 4, but is placed on Step 8, Step 8 will become the new Step 4 and all nurses will have their wages increased to reflect the adjustment.

5. $3.00 Evening shift differential and $6.50 Night shift differential

6. For night shift nurses: after working on night shift for 24 months nurses would receive an additional $5.00 on top of the night shift differential. This is proposal is to recognize the longevity of night shift nurses.

7. $7 Standby pay

8. Increased premium for preceptors to $2.00 to train the nurses we desperately need.

9. Double time for standby on holidays

10. Added Veteran’s Day, Juneteenth, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to holiday list. PRMCE proposed cutting Presidents Day to allow Juneteenth.

11. Expanded holiday pay for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for night shift nurses. Consistent with other contracts in the area we proposed expanded hours for holiday pay on Christmas eve and Christmas day from 7pm on 12/23 to 7AM on 12/26.

12. $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.

13. Proposed improvements to health insurance by reducing out of pocket cost.

14. Allowing union rep into employee lounges and to remain member of staffing committee

15. 40 hours (pro-rated by FTE) for education hours and increased education money

16. Additional PTO to honor longevity of nurses over 15 years

17. 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

To clarify, we do NOT have a tentative agreement. These proposals have not been fully agreed to by the Hospital! As you can see, there are some areas that we have some agreement on, but differ drastically on wages, staffing, and other contract language. We need Providence to come back to the bargaining table immediately! Nurses deserve better NOW!

Planned Parenthood - Bargaining Begins

Planned Parenthood
Bargaining Begins

“Hopefully Planned Parenthood still cares about their employees No Matter What.”

– Monalisa Bauman, Medical Assistant, Bargaining Team

Bargaining has kicked off with Planned Parenthood! On day one of bargaining, we talked about non-economics (language pieces that have no monetary value) and will get into economics (pay, benefits, etc.) in future bargaining sessions.

We discussed the following language:

• We proposed non-discrimination language, including ensuring the contract is gender neutral, access to all-gender bathrooms, respect for pronouns, chosen names on badges and emails.

• We proposed language that ensures you do not have to give 30 days’ notice of resignation, yet the Employer wants to only be able to give you 7 days’ notice of termination. We want to ensure all job positions have the same requirements for resigning or facing termination.

• The Employer proposed a one-year contract and cited that they are worried about funding through the election-cycle, but we are holding strong to a three-year agreement to ensure you are protected throughout the upcoming election cycle when Planned Parenthood is in the news even more and your safety and patient safety is at higher risk.

• The Employer proposed language in the contract stating if an emergency happens whether it be a natural disaster, pandemic or as they stated “Acts of God” that the contract would be suspended. We wholeheartedly REJECT that proposal. You deserve to be protected through all cases of emergency including the offensive language they proposed “Acts of God”.

Bargaining Team: Michel Avery, Alison Deboise, Melissa Grindstaff, Monalisa Bauman, Mollie Overby

MHS Covington Medical Center Bargaining Continues

After seven months of bargaining and mediation we finally met with Management in person. This really allowed us to have productive dialog regarding our proposals. We hope Management will now listen and take our concerns seriously.

Due to Management’s lack of respect and movement we were forced to bring a mediator into bargaining. She has been helpful in bringing us closer to a fair deal, but Management says we are still pretty far apart. If Management actually listened and respected the concerns of their workers we wouldn’t be so far apart. It is time for Management to Respect us, Pay us and Protect us!

In order to keep the hospital running well and efficient, people have to have joy in their work! That joy comes from the service we provide to patients. However, if our service is not valued or recognized by management the joy we get from our service to our patients dies out... in healthcare we can refer to it as burnout. What we are asking for is not a lot, if the hospital is small and not growing administrators should look at themselves - it doesn't fall on employees! If they want to retain staff then they need to value people, if they are in the process of growing they need to value the great staff they currently have, so that when the growth comes we all provide excellent care. It almost feels like we are begging for safety nets just to fulfill our FTEs. Management constantly low census us and many of us lose out on pay. The cost of living is way to high for people to not be able to meet their FTEs and get a full pay check. We have proposed language to limit Low Census and to help us secure our pay checks and Management continues to ignore our needs. It was great having dialog but its time for Management to take action and give us what we need! They say they want to recruit and retain workers but they don’t want to make the actions to make it happen. Wages are only one part of retention working conditions and the ability to work to make the wages are the other part of retention.

“Meeting in person allowed for a freer flow of bargaining ideas across the table. We still haven’t reached a deal but we had great discussion.” — Ken Ferrell

“Today we were able to express that union members are as valuable as nonunion workers and we are entitled to guaranteed FTEs and full paychecks just like travelers and system float!” — Faith Soriano-Miller

“Management said that float pool is the future of staffing, but we know Core staff are the present, future and backbone of staffing.” — Luz Martinez

Join us our Contract Action Team meeting via zoom!
Thursday, May 25 @ 1pm-2pm or 6pm-7pm

If you have any questions, please contact our Rep Ian Jacobson 206-436-6550.

EvergreenHealth Hospital - Fighting for changes in our workplace

EvergreenHealth Hospital
Fighting for changes in our workplace

We had four full days of bargaining and made countless proposals. Management finally responded to some of our proposals but were unwilling to accept many that are important to us:

• STAFFING: We proposed staffing language which would empower workers to collaboratively address the big staffing issues we face every day. Management failed to address the obvious need for a dialogue on this urgent issue.

• EQUITY: We proposed contract language that promoted equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. Management responded that they see no need to exceed the minimum protections required by law.

Our next bargaining date with Management is Wednesday, May 31. We anticipate Management will respond to our economic proposals at the next session.

We are ready to have an extensive conversation with them about what is important to workers at Evergreen.

For additional information, contact a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep Jack Crow @ 206-436-6614.

STAY IN THE LOOP! It is very important that your personal contact information is correct with your Union to be sure you receive updates on bargaining with your Employer, union benefits, bargaining surveys, as well as contract vote information.
https://ufcw3000.org/update-your-information

Northwest Center - in the Right Direction

Northwest Center
Steps in the Right Direction

We spent the bargaining session on May 17 discussing in depth some of the most important priorities of early supports: caseloads, the right to remote work, geographic location assignments, and onboarding and mentorship.

Northwest Center struck down our language around remote work and geographic assignments and we highlighted that this is a major priority for Union members. The back-and-forth conversation showed us that we do have some shared interests with Northwest Center, but to win the language we want around these topics, we are going to need to show solidarity and take action together.

Our Bargaining Team pushed for clarity around the financial future of Northwest Center. Early Supports Leadership assured us that they are NOT for sale and have no plans to sell in the future. They were not willing to provide any details regarding the purpose of the meeting on Wednesday, May 24. We requested that our Union Rep Ian Jacobson be included in the meeting.

Bargaining resumes in June and we will continue conversations about caseloads and remote work. Our team will be meeting with SEIU Early Learning Union members to support one another in our fights for fair first contracts. Stay tuned for information on next steps and solidarity actions!

“We are excited about the progress we made with Onboarding, Orientation, and Mentorship Program. Our team spent a lot of time crafting these proposals and Management responded positively to our ideas. There is still more work to be done, but language is moving in the right direction.”

- Our Northwest Center
UFCW 3000 Bargaining Team
Jenica Barrett, Speech Language Pathologist; Cassie Villarreal, Speech Language Pathologist; Kimmy Burns, Physical Therapist; Julia Szilard, Physical Therapist (not pictured)

Join your coworkers for the next Contract Action Team meeting on Zoom!
Monday, May 22 @ 12:30—1:30pm

Contact Bargaining Team or Union Rep for meeting details

Read our Join Solidarity Statement with SEIU 925 at:
bit.ly/NWC-Solidarity23

For questions or to get more involved, contact your Bargaining Team Stewards or Union Rep Ian Jacobson, 206-436-6550.

Tri-Cities Community Health RNs Bargaining Continues

Our Union Bargaining Team has finished an additional three sessions since last week. We have been able to get tentative agreements on most of our new contract which include; a grievance process, seniority language, improved working conditions secure union representation and membership but will continue to work on compensation and protect the benefits we currently have.

“We continue to work hard on behalf of our co-workers to make sure that we secure a contract that will be a solid foundation for building on in the future.” — Karen Engel RN, Auburn campus

“We are securing and locking in language in many areas, but we still have to work hard to come to an agreement on wages.” — Hilda Torres RN, 515 Court St. campus.

Our next bargaining session will be June 6, 2023. Please reach out to one of our Bargaining Team Members or our Union Rep. Juanita Quezada at 509-340-7407 with any questions or concerns.

Sunrise Dental TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED!

Our Union Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract and are recommending a yes vote! We are excited to announce that the new agreement includes:

• Wage increases each year of the agreement

• $900 Bonus

• One additional Personal Holiday

• Increased Employer 401K contribution

Full details of the contract offer will be available during the online vote:

Online Contract Vote: May 31 from 5am-5pm

You will receive an email from UFCW 3000 via “SimplyVoting” with your unique login information. All members in good standing are eligible to vote.

TO VOTE ONLINE Make sure your information is up to date!

In order to vote on proposals, make sure your personal email is up to date in our records. If you did not receive this announcement via email please visit: ufcw3000.org/update-your-information to update your email or us.

If you do not receive an email to vote on May 31, please reach out to your Union Representative to provide an updated email address.

• Charlie King (Bonney Lake, Olympia, Puyallup, Tacoma, Federal Way, Lakewood) 206-436-6518

• Christie Harris (Auburn, Covington, Kent, Maple Valley, Renton, Seatac/Seattle, Tukwila/Southcenter, Bothell/Mill Creek, Everett, Marysville, Monroe, Shoreline, Ballard, Bellevue, Carnation, Issaquah, Redmond) 206-436-6606

• Naomi Oligario (Gig Harbor, Sequim, Poulsbo, Silverdale) 360-662-1989

• Celia Ponce-Sanchez (Lynnwood, Arlington) 360-419-4678

JOIN THE VOTE INFORMATION MEETING! May 30 Drop in 11am-1pm or 4-6pm.

It is so important that members attend the Zoom Meeting to get a full understanding of the Employer’s offer and have your questions answered. 1-253-215-8782 use Meeting ID: 876 4159 3675 Passcode: 899349 Or scan the QR Code to go to the zoom meeting.

UFCW 3000 & SEIU 925: Solidarity with Northwest Center Union Members!

Early Supports union members with UFCW 3000 bargained yesterday with local nonprofit employer Northwest Center (NWC), and the Early Learning workers at NWC who recently organized with SEIU 925 are standing in support and solidarity for a fair contract!

Workers at Northwest Center, whose “Big Blue Trucks” have been seen around the Northwest for more than 50 years, offer therapy, early education, employment services, and advocacy opportunities for people of all ages with disabilities. At Northwest Center Kids, Early Supports workers provide birth to three therapy services, and Early Learning workers run two inclusive childcare centers in Seattle. In both departments, organizing a union is about more than wages and benefits—it’s also about ensuring the best possible environment for all kiddos and clients.

“We both value the care we’re providing to children, and speaking up collectively about the changes that need to be made is powerful! The challenges we face span across our departments and so we’re excited to stand together in solidarity as we both fight towards first contracts that meet our needs and the needs of the families we serve!”

– UFCW 3000 Bargaining Team: Jenica Barrett, Speech Language Pathologist; Cassie Villarreal, Speech Language Pathologist; Kimmy Burns, Physical Therapist; Julia Szilard, Physical Therapist

NWC Early Supports became the first agency of its kind in Washington State to unionize, and one of the first in the country. Since few workplaces like theirs are unionized, these new members—physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, infant mental health therapists, family resource coordinators, dietitians, special educators, and administrative staff—are excited to help set historic workplace standards. The early childhood educators, custodians, kitchen staff, and specialists at NWC Early Learning just won their union this month, and can’t wait to get started on the process of coming together to bargain with the employer for their contract as well.

Working together, our two unions comprise more than 67,000 workers across the region, with members in early learning, health care, nonprofits, education, and many other industries. We bring the experience, solidarity, and power of all our members to the bargaining table and look forward to working together for equitable contracts at NWC!

Planned Parenthood: Bargaining Starts Soon - Get Involved Now!

You're likely already aware that our current contract was set to expire on June 1. We agreed to extend the contract by one month to the end of June to allow more time for negotiations. Your bargaining team will meet with PPGNHAIK leadership to bargain on May 24 and then again on June 6. As with bargaining sessions in the last decade, HR has been slow to agree to the many dates we have proposed. Their stalling tactics have only emboldened our team to become more united in our demands.  We look forward to getting these negotiations started and fighting for the contract we all deserve!

Meet Your Bargaining Team!

L to R: Michel Avery, Clinical Trainer - Monalisa Bauman, MA Certified - Alison DeBoise, Insurance Biller - Melissa Grindstaff, Patient Access Rep - Mollie Overby, Capacity Building Specialist

Get Involved

How can you help us win the contract we all deserve?​

1. Fill out the bargaining survey. Thank you to those who have already made your voice heard.

2. If you prefer to spell out concerns by phone or email, please reach out to Charlie at (206) 436-6518 or a union Shop Steward or Bargaining Team member.

3. Join a Thursday night Zoom check-in at 7pm and let us know what’s important to you.

4. PP Leadership has posted the GAHC Coordinator position, but is still vague on the timeline of the return of new patients.  If you have not already signed the petition demanding transparency on the GAH pause, please do so here.

5. Finally, let’s cheer on our fellow Planned Parenthood and UFCW Local 324 on filing for an election to unionize!

PRMCE Cardiovascular Techs - Online Vote Notice—Providence Everett Recognizes Years of Experience for Cardiovascular Techs!

Providence Everett has proposed to recognize each current cardiovascular techs’ years of experience as a radiology technologist. Current cardiovascular techs will be able to submit their years of experience as a radiology technologist to Human Resources after the vote on May 24, 2023.

By approving the letter of understanding, all current cardiovascular techs will receive credit for years of experience as a radiology technologist. Given this, cardiovascular techs who have radiology technologist experience will see a change to their wage step and a wage increase.

We are recommending a “YES” vote!

Online Vote will be held from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM on May 24.

To vote you must have an email on file with UFCW 3000. If you do not receive emails from UFCW 3000, please update your contact information or resubscribe to UFCW 3000 emails.

PRMCE DAY SIX BARGAINING UPDATE

PRMCE

DAY SIX BARGAINING UPDATE

Today our Nurse Bargaining Team stayed at the table until 10:30pm, and we were willing to negotiate all night working hard to ensure you get a contract that includes fair wages throughout the life of our contract, strong language around staffing to incentivize the hospital to prioritize safe staffing over profits. Providence continues to reject common sense language that will benefit the hospital and the community. Our Union Bargaining Team has prioritized creating a contract that focuses on recruiting and retaining staff, and now more than ever we need you to stand in solidarity with us and get ready to take Action!

Happy Nurses Week!

“We don’t cherry pick when it comes to patient safety”

— Trevor Gjendem

St. Michael Medical Center Service & Dietary - Tentative agreement reached - Vote scheduled

St. Michael Medical Center - Service & Dietary
Tentative agreement reached
Vote scheduled

After many months of bargaining, we finally have a tentative agreement! We worked hard to get a contract that works for all, and won historic wage increases that can help recruit and retain qualified staff. Our new agreement includes:

• New wage scales and job classifications

• Filled in all ghost steps

• Pay for call in advance of shift

• Management will pay for certifications including food handler’s card

• Pandemic Language

• And much more!

The vote will be in-person and members will have the opportunity to speak to Bargaining Team members before casting their ballot. Please arrive during the posted vote times as we cannot allow members to enter the vote room outside of the advertised times.

Join your co-workers and vote on the new contract

Wednesday, May 17
8:30am—10:30am | 12pm—3:30pm | 5pm—7pm
St. Michael Medical Center, conference room 1.939 (first floor of the new hospital by the blue elevators)

EvergreenHealth Kirkland - Disrespect from Management!

Our Bargaining Team: Justy Hedrick, CT Scanning; Anna Hennager, Resp Therapy; Chris Dizon, Echocardiology; Desiree Huttinger, Cardiology; Kimberly Mitchell, Surgery/ Labor and Delivery; Jennifer Bradshaw, Mammography; Kevin Daly, Lab; David Dimalanta, Radiology; James Kerr, Surgery/OR

Monday, May 8, our Union Bargaining Team met with Management. The Team has given many proposals to Management, both proposals with an economic impact and those which improve or clarify existing contract language, making the contract better for workers AND Management.

During Monday’s bargaining session, Team members let Management know that their coworkers were disappointed that Management had still not responded to any Union proposals. 

Management replied with a firm, disrespectful statement saying that they were not going to counter any proposals given so far and wanted to see everything economic as well as non-economic before giving anything back. The Union Team stayed strong through this, challenging management’s statement and their attitude! 

For additional information, contact a Bargaining Team Member or Union Representative Jack Crow 206-436-6614.

Safe Staffing Moving Forward!

The Presidents of SEIU 1199NW, UFCW 3000, and WSNA speak to the huge victory for patients, communities and nurses with the new Safe Staffing Law, the need for nurses and communities to hold hospital administrations accountable to the new law, and a much deserved celebration for this victory. Watch the Video:

The Presidents of SEIU 1199NW, UFCW 3000, and WSNA

More on our long fight for Safe Staffing!>>

PRMCE DAY FIVE BARGAINING UPDATE

Today Our Union Bargaining Team had more productive conversations around staffing plans and movement within staffing language. Providence went from staffing ratios being a non-starter to having deeper conversations around what staffing should look like at Providence and we are anticipating language that both parties can agree on.

Our discussions around staffing included talking in great length about staffing committee language and the role that the committee will play in improving patient care and safety throughout the hospital. We had discussions around retention and Providence stated that retention is also a priority for them but have yet to commit to any language that supports retention.

“We want Providence to know we HEAR them and we want them to do better for Nurses and the community!”

— Kristen Crowder

PRMCE DAY FOUR BARGAINING UPDATE

PRMCE

DAY FOUR BARGAINING UPDATE

Today Providence came back with economic responses to our last proposals, including wages and responses to our staffing ratio language. It was clear from the Nurses who completed the Union Bargaining Survey that staffing and having confidence in administration to make efforts to adhere to staffing plans, is our number one priority. But Providence still has not countered or discussed with our Union Bargaining Team the staffing ratios that we proposed multiple times. We have reminded Providence that staffing ratios are a priority, and we are encouraging Providence to agree with our counter.

“Providence, DO BETTER!”

— Our Union Bargaining Team

St. Michael Medical Center Protech - Bargaining Continues

Our Bargaining Team: Paul Harris, ER Tech; Chris Young, Transport; Don Szabo, Lead Medical Imaging; Rob Shauger, CNA 8th floor; Angela Roberson, Heart and Vascular; Connie Baker, RT; Kain McLeod, Pharm Technician

Bargaining continues, but it is slow. We have made proposals that would protect all our coworkers and help us recruit and retain qualified workers. Management fails to listen to our concerns and address our needs. We are frustrated and disappointed that instead of seeking to find mutually beneficial solutions, they have threatened our union security and healthcare benefits. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! We work hard day in and day out taking care of patients and our community, but management proposes language that would harm us instead of strengthen us. Management needs to listen, and give us what we deserve; Better Pay, Better staffing and More Respect!

We believe it is vital that Management listens to our concerns and gives us the respect and support we deserve. We are asking for better pay, better staffing levels, and more respect at work. These are reasonable requests that would benefit not only us but our patients and the community we serve.

We need your support now more than ever—if you believe that it is time for Management to respect and protect us, please sign the petition calling on them to do the right thing at the bargaining table. Your voice is essential in helping us to achieve a fair and equitable contract that benefits everyone.

“The cost of living has gone up and their wage proposals are not competitive and keep us below the market.”

— Rob Shauger

“Inflation is not an imposition, it’s an opportunity to work more—don’t get more money, just work more—that’s Management theory.”

— Paul Harris

“Management continues to try and divide us by stating, ‘nurses are more valuable because their skillsets cover everyone.’ It’s time for them to recognize that we are all valuable for our skill to make the patient healthcare team, we all work hard to take care of our patients.”

— Connie Baker

St. Michael Medical Center Service & Dietary - We Have a Historic Tentative Agreement!

Our Bargaining Team:
Vanessa Rosadino, Dietary Caterer
Christy Sammons, EVS Relief
Susan Meyer, Dietary Cook
Pam Reese, EVS Discharge

After many months of bargaining, we finally have a tentative agreement. We worked hard to get a contract that works for all! We won historic wage increases that can help recruit and retain qualified staff!

We also won:

• New wage scales and job classifications

• Filled in all ghost steps

• Pay for call in advance of shift

• Management will pay for certifications including food handler’s card!

• Pandemic Language

• And other great wins!

“We did it! We are DONE!!!”

— Pam Reese

“This is a historic contract. I have never seen such high percentages in my 20 years of working here! “

— Susan Meyer

“I am so happy for our new contract. We worked really hard and we got a successful contract and we encourage everyone to vote YES!”

— Vanessa Rosadino

“We worked really hard to get a contract that will help us recruit and retain new workers! “

— Christy Sammons

Please keep stay tune for more information about vote times so you can vote on your new contract!

If you have any questions, please reach out to your Bargaining Team.

St. Joseph Medical Center Technical - CONTRACT RATIFIED!

On Tuesday May 2, members in the technical bargaining unit at St. Joseph Medical Center overwhelmingly voted to ratify their new collective bargaining agreement!

Our new contract includes some of the highest pay in the region, a completely revamped wage scale with no ghost steps, a historic $1.00/hr increase to standby pay, and much more. Other than our pay increases, which will go into effect no later than two pay periods after ratification, all provisions of our new contract are now in effect!

After contracts have been voted on and ratified by the membership, the process of review between the union and the employer begins. This is a process is to ensure all new changes are incorporated into the agreement. This can take time, but is necessary for accuracy, we will post the contract on our website as soon as the review process is finished. In the meantime, you can find a redlined version at ufcw3000.org!