Children's Therapy Center - Bargaining Update: It's All Out There!

On Friday, October 3, our bargaining team met with management for our second day of negotiations on our first union contract.

We began our second bargaining day putting the finishing touches on what we would later present to the employer as the final few new proposals we expect to make towards our union contract. These primarily consist of the economic sections, some of which we have highlighted below:

Scheduling: A proposal to memorialize existing practices when it comes to our work schedules, particularly our day-to-day flexibility.

Caseloads: We proposed a framework to outline the appropriate day-to-day caseloads for each job classification and proposed earning an hourly premium when maximum caseloads are exceeded for a prolonged period of time.

Premiums: We proposed additional compensation if you hold specialty certifications, train or mentor new employees, are qualified to care for patients who are deaf/hard of hearing or require medically complex feeding, and more!

Health Insurance: Proposed that the employer pay more towards the cost of our health insurance premiums.

Continuing Education: We proposed to increase the amount of money available to employees for continuing education related expenses, as well as an increase to the paid education time we can utilize.

Wages and Placement on the Wage Scale: We proposed union wage scales which outline set increases for both continued years of experience and future cost-of-living adjustments. Furthermore, our bargaining team proposed a pathway for current employees to be placed onto these wage scales, incorporating credit for our relevant experience in our positions.

After presenting our initial proposals to the employer, they asked a couple of clarifying questions and went back to their caucus room to continue reviewing/discussing. Overall, our team were encouraged that the employer indicated that our proposals were thorough and straightforward. We are eager to get back to the bargaining table and remain hopeful that we will get responses to our proposals from the employer at our session scheduled for October 15.

Join our Contract Action Team Meeting to ask members of our bargaining team questions about our progress so far, and discuss next steps as first contract negotiations continue!

Bargaining Team: Lindsey Gilbert, Family Resource Coordinator; Ronda Duluoz, Infant Mental Health; Megan Rupert, Special Educator

"We're feeling great about the progress so far! Two sessions down, and all of our proposals are on the table!"

— Megan Rupert, Special Educato

Kaiser Pro Tech Optical - Bargaining Update

Kaiser Pro Tech Optical
Bargaining Update

Since our first meetings five months ago, our bargaining team has worked to reach agreement on a strong contract. This week we reached tentative agreements on:

• Establishment of a Joint Committee on Eyecare

• Occasional Floating improvements

• Establishment of a Joint Committee on Job Roles and Career Development

• New language in Article 8 creating a True-Up process

• Updated Experience language (addresses wage scale placement)

This is in addition to other tentative agreements reached previously including increases to premiums and differentials. We continue to work to ensure that Kaiser understands the extremely competitive wages offered by other employers in Washington.

Kaiser has made no substantial movement on raising wages at National Bargaining. This week we are continuing to fight for sustainable wages and also aligning contract expiration dates across all Alliance contracts.

It's time to raise our voices and let Kaiser know we are united in our collective power.

Both the local and the national contracts have expired. We are asking you and your coworkers to fill out a card letting us know what you can do to help. If you or a coworker needs a card, contact a steward or JJ Benson (425) 306-1357.

Q & A:

What can we do to help? Fill out a card and be ready for next steps.

Has our contract expired? Yes, both the local Pro Tech Optical and the National Alliance Agreement expired this week.

Is striking an option? Yes. Pro Tech Optical Union members can vote to authorize a strike. At this time no strike votes have been scheduled here.

If I check the box on the card saying I am willing to strike, is that a vote to strike? No. The card is to determine your interest in participating. You will be notified if and when a strike authorization vote is happening and have the opportunity to vote.

Are other Alliance Unions voting to authorize a strike? Yes, some Alliance Unions have already voted to authorize a strike, including a different union in Oregon, which represents union members in Vancouver, Washington.

Start the dialogue. Talk to your coworkers about the importance of standing together for our contract!

Capital Medical Center RN - Making Progress!

Over the past few sessions, our Capital Medical RN bargaining team has been working hard to move negotiations forward on a successor contract. While we have reached tentative agreements on many language items, we have not reached an agreement on a lot of economic pieces. In our most recent session on September 19, we put all our outstanding proposals on the table. These proposals are not minor details—they are critical to recruiting and retaining nurses at our hospital.

Let's be clear—our priorities aren't optional. Nurses need:

• Better staffing solutions and manageable patient loads

• Incentive pay for vacant shifts

• Competitive wages and benefits that recruit and retain RNs

• Improvements to report pay for on-call nurses

• Increases to premiums

• Respect for the work we do every single day

These proposals are the solutions we need to provide quality care for our patients. We've also made it clear that our hospital must remain competitive with Providence St. Peter's new contract. Our wage scale and contract need to be competitive with Providence. Anything less will only make staffing challenges worse.

We will be bargaining into the night on September 23 and 25. We asked that you show your support by:

• Wearing your union buttons and colors—make your solidarity visible

• Talk to your coworkers—make sure everyone knows what's at stake

• Be ready—if management drags their feet, we'll need to take action!

Bargaining Team: Bonnie Verellen, Dennis Verellen, Cindy Dixon

Questions or ready to get more involved? Contact our bargaining team or reach out to Kimberly Starkweather at (206) 436-6515.

This is our time. Our patients, our profession, our fight.

Recovery Cafe - Bargaining Update

On September 15, our bargaining team met with Recovery Cafe and made significant progress on our harassment language—including language protecting staff if a Recovery Cafe member harasses staff. We are moving through non-economics and plan to introduce economics at an upcoming session. This would include our vacation, healthcare and retirement benefits, wages, and other economic items.

We'll be discussing the next steps in our bargaining process, highlights of the economic proposal, and how we can win what we deserve at our membership meeting this Thursday at 7:00 PM.

We will hold our next contract membership meeting on September 18 at 7:00 PM.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your bargaining team or your union representative Allison Hanley at (206) 436-6586.

Planned Parenthood - Bargaining Moves Forward

Bargaining Team: Shantelle George, Sr MA Phlebotomy; Alison DeBoise, Insurance Biller 1; Charlie King, Union Rep; Nico Montanero, Negotiator; Mackenzie Weiland, Float Clinician; Michel Avery, Clinical Trainer 1

We exchanged economic proposals during our two recent bargaining sessions. Key decision makers from management were candid about the financial situation looking ahead. We had reservations on management's proposals, but we did get creative and come up with counterproposals that we believe help address management's financial concerns while still respecting our hard work. 2026 will be an unpredictable year, but we are working with management to add language to the contract that would help find alternatives to layoffs and health center closures. They proposed a two-year agreement in hopes that PP is in a better place financially in 2027.

Management is confident that health insurance premiums will be going up significantly next year and they proposed that both staff and employer share the cost of the increase and that staff take on the majority of that increase. We countered that management should take the bulk of that increase if not all of it. Management is also proposing staff accrue PTO and sick leave instead of the current preloading practice and we are pushing back.

Talks are still ongoing with management on creating more equitable access to training and advancement for staff. We're continuing discussions with management in hopes of making progress towards an agreement, and our next sessions are scheduled for September 29 and 30.