Providence St. Peter COTA/PTA - Tentative Agreement Reached!

On Monday, November 6, our bargaining team met with Management for our fourth bargaining session and managed to reach a Tentative Agreement on our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). 

This MOU will:

• Bring us into the larger bargaining unit with our Union siblings in other technical jobs at PSPH so that we can negotiate from a position of strength in future contract fights.

• Guarantee a minimum of at least 2.5% in raises to all Physical Therapy Assistants and Certified Occupational Therapist Assistants one full pay period after we hold a ratification vote; we will also have a wage scale that we advance on by years of experience moving forward.

• Allow us to challenge workplace discipline such as suspensions or terminations through a formal grievance procedure, helping ensure management handles such situations in a more fair and reasonable manner.

We will be announcing a date, time, and location for a ratification vote for the MOU in the near future. We are strongly recommending a “YES” vote! Please speak with bargaining team members for details or call Union Representative Brandan Zielinski at (206) 436 6603.

Bargaining Team Members: Cynthia Miner, Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant; Heidi Ranger-Geh, Physical Therapy Assistant

Providence St. Peter Hospital (RN Case Managers) - Bargaining Continues

Providence St. Peter Hospital - RN Case Managers
Bargaining Continues

Our Bargaining Team met with Management once again on Monday, October 23. We have continued to trade proposals, with our side of the table trying to get as much experience recognized on the existing RN wage scale for purposes of placement.

Since 100% credit for nursing experience would mean very healthy raises for those of us with multiple decades in this field, it has continued to be a challenge to get a tentative agreement we can present for a vote. Management has given us variations on two ideas, one which would credit 50% of our experience and place us on the existing scale, and another which creates a second wage scale just for Case Managers. This second option does not appeal to us, because the top steps of the wage scale are lesser than those of the existing RN scale, even though they are offering to place us further along the scale.

As you will know by the time this reaches you, we will have met with as many of you as we can to discuss this. We hope to get a strong sense of how we all feel we should proceed before we schedule another bargaining session. Please reach out to a Bargaining Team member or Union Rep Brandan Zielinski @ 206-436-6603 with any questions.

Bargaining Team (L—R): Mary Briles, Case Manager RN; Melissa Macchiarella, Case Manager RN; (not pictured: Alison Studeman, Case Manager RN)

Providence St. Peter Palliative Care RN Unit - Memorandum of Understanding Ratified!

On Friday, October 20, our Memorandum of Understanding with Providence St. Peter Hospital was ratified! 100% of those voting voted “YES”, bringing us into the collective bargaining unit with our union siblings and guaranteeing our wages and working conditions.

Just as importantly, we now have a voice on the job as members of UFCW 3000, the Essential Workers’ Union!

If you have any questions or concerns about your union contract in general, please call Union Representative Brandan Zielinski at (206) 436-6603.

If you are called into an investigative meeting that may lead to discipline, you may decline to answer any questions without representation and call our Member Resource Center at (866) 210-3000 to arrange to have someone represent you. This number is also useful if you have experienced discipline such as suspension or termination and feel it may have been without just cause.

Our Bargaining Team, from left to right:

Crystal Trabue, Palliative Care RN

Kara Evans, Palliative Care RN

Kim Brown-Rechner, Palliative Care RN

Providence St. Peter Palliative Care RNs Vote Notice

Memorandum Of Understanding Ratification Vote Notice!

Our M.O.U. ratification vote is scheduled for Friday, October 20 at Providence St. Peter Hospital. Our Union Bargaining Team is recommending a “Yes” vote so that we can be added to the larger bargaining unit with the other RNs represented by UFCW 3000 and be placed on the existing wage scale.

Please join us Friday, October 20 in the diagnostic imaging conference room between 11:30AM — 1:30PM to ratify our Memorandum of Understanding!

Directions to the diagnostic imaging conference room: Enter the hospital through the main lobby. Turn left and go to the south lobby. Turn right, passing the reception area and hand swipe the door opener. Go to the end of the hall, turn left, then take an immediate right. Follow that hall and toward the end on the left wall you will see an alcove with two office doors and one to the conference room. There is a sign on the door of the conference room.

Providence St. Peter Palliative Care RN Unit - Tentative Agreement Reached!

On Wednesday, October 4, our Bargaining Team met with the Employer. After a few proposals and counterproposals, we were able to come to a Tentative Agreement with them on the terms of our Memorandum of Understanding! The agreement ensures everyone gets a raise in their placement on the wage scale once we hold a vote to ratify it. It also places us all on the existing UFCW 3000 union wage scale so that we will continue to get raises on our anniversary dates (of hire). Even better, it affords us the protections of the existing union contract and all the benefits within.

What’s next: We will be holding an in-person vote at Providence St. Peter Hospital on Friday, October 20, from 11:30 AM until 1:30 PM so that our coworkers can vote to ratify the Memorandum of Agreement. This will also be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have. We will send out a separate vote notice once we have determined what conference room we will be using.

"We have fought hard for this agreement—and are excited to join the other RNs at Providence St. Peter as members of UFCW 3000!"
—Kim Brown-Rechner, Palliative Care RN

Our Bargaining Team, from left to right:
Crystal Trabue, Palliative Care RN
Kara Evans, Palliative Care RN
Kim Brown-Rechner, Palliative Care RN

Providence St. Peter Hospital (PTAs / COTAs) we delivered our petition

On Thursday, September 29, our Union Bargaining Team met with Management for our third bargaining session. In the morning we presented our joint petition asking PSPH to respect our demands for fair wages for ourselves, as well as the Case Manager and Palliative Care RNs who are currently in negotiations. We had over 140 signatures on this petition from PSPH workers, and RNs from different units showed up to voice their support. Unfortunately, we continue to be unable to get a tentative agreement from PSPH that addresses all of our priorities. Because of this, we will be holding a Contract Action Team meeting on Monday, October 9, to discuss what our next steps may be. The time and location of this meeting will be forthcoming.

Please speak with our Bargaining Team members or call Union Rep Brandan Zielinski @ 206-436-6603 if you have any questions.

Bargaining Team Members: Cynthia Miner, Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant; Heidi Ranger-Geh, Physical Therapy Assistant

Providence St. Peter Hospital RN - Fighting for Fairness, Wages—and Most Importantly—RECOGNITION!

Our Bargaining Team met with Management for most of the day on Thursday, September 21, 2023. While negotiations were not entirely unproductive, we continue to struggle to reach an agreement. The Employer has yet to offer a deal that would put case manager & utilization review RNs at 100% credit on the existing union pay scale. Some of us, as we know, have between two to four decades of experience both inside hospitals and in-home healthcare. The last proposal from PSPH would recognize only 50% of that experience at best, and in some cases it appears they would prefer not to include nursing experience outside a hospital setting. We are closer to agreement with them about what a minimum immediate wage increase would look like, however, with offers on both sides’ various proposals ranging from 2.5% to 3.25%.

We will continue to bargain in good faith but have not yet established our next joint session with the employer. We will also continue to demand our experience be recognized! We deserve a chance to vote on our Memorandum of Understanding and join our union siblings already covered by the RN union contract!

“Our experience, and our dedication to providing the highest quality of nursing care is vital to our patients, and indispensable to the operations of Providence St. Peter Hospital!”

—PSPH Case Manager Bargaining Committee

Bargaining Team, left to right: Alison Studeman, Case Manager RN; Melissa Macchiarella, Case Manager RN; Mary Briles, Case Manager RN.”

Providence St. Peter (PTAs and COTAs) - Prepare to take action in solidarity

Providence St. Peter (PTAs and COTAs)
Prepare to take action in solidarity

“It just seems unfair that we are putting forth efforts to negotiate in fairness, though Providence does not seem to be bringing a reasonable offer to the table...” —Heidi Ranger-Geh, Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant, Bargaining Team

Our Bargaining Team met with Providence St. Peter Management on Tuesday, August 29, to bargain over the specifics of our Memorandum of Understanding. We have continued to try to come to a compromise on the structure of a wage scale, our placement on it, and continuation of our educational stipend. We have made what we feel to be reasonable movement towards Management’s position on these matters but by and large have found the Employer’s willingness to meet us part of the way to be lacking.

We have heard that our new union siblings also attempting to get their Memorandum of Understanding negotiated so they may be added into the RN union contract have been facing similar struggles. We hope to coordinate actions soon with these Palliative Care and Case Manager RNs so that we can all show Management we deserve dignity, respect, and fair compensation for our labor.

Please speak with our Bargaining Team members or call Union Rep Brandan Zielinski @ 206-436-6603 if you have any questions.

Bargaining Team Members: Cynthia Miner, Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant; Heidi Ranger-Geh, Physical Therapy Assistant

Providence St. Peter Palliative Care RNs Bargaining Begins!

We met with Providence St. Peter for our first day of negotiations- and felt positive throughout the first few hours- but as the day went on, we were left feeling a bit deflated. PSPH agreed the entire contract would apply to Palliative Care RNs, including the current wage scale! Unfortunately, we disagree on where on the existing wage scale we would be placed.

Both parties made movement on wage scale placement proposals- but we are still being undervalued by 25% by PSPH. We are awaiting potential dates for our next bargaining session from management.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your bargaining team or our Union Representative Brandan Zielinski (206) 436 6603.

“They’re telling me I have 28 years of experience, and yet I got my 30-year pin in the mail last month?!” —Doyla Doty, Palliative Care RN

Keep your personal contact information up-to-date to be sure you receive updates on bargaining, union benefits, bargaining surveys, as well as contract vote information. >>

Providence St. Peter Case Manager RNs BARGAINING CONTINUES

Providence St. Peter Case Manager RNs
BARGAINING CONTINUES

“Management may not have a clear idea of what we do, but we are important to the functioning of the hospital!” ­—Alison Studeman, Case Manager

On Tuesday, August 22, our union Bargaining Team met with PSPH Management to continue bargaining our Memorandum of Understanding. While we were able to come to a minor agreement on not needing to re-submit 2023 vacation requests once we joined the larger union RN group, we were not able to get a concrete counterproposal from Management on our wage scale.

PSPH Management says they cannot cost out our last proposal, which would properly recognize past experience for placement on the existing union pay scale. The reason we were given is that Providence does not have our resumes on file to see what wage increases would look like. They have not moved from their initial position on wages, which would create a second lesser-paid tier of Case Manager RNs in the union contract. We do not believe our work to be of lesser value than that of bedside RNs!

However, we did agree to provide Management with as much data as we could possibly gather on the past experience of all of our case manager colleagues, so they could more seriously evaluate our proposal.

As such, we are asking that you please submit an updated resume to Union Rep Brandan Zielinski. If you have specific questions about this, we encourage to call and leave a voicemail @ 206-436-6603 OR talk to one of our Bargaining Team members!

Please keep wearing your union buttons at work, stay tuned for details, and ask a Bargaining Team member if you have any questions!

Our Bargaining Team: Mary Briles, Case Manager; Melissa Macchiarella, Case Manager; [not pictured]: Alison Studeman, Case Manager

Providence St. Peter Case Managers - Committed to our patients and deserving of better wages

Providence St. Peter Case Managers
Committed to our patients and deserving of better wages

“Nurses do more than bedside care. We touch every aspect of a patient’s life.” —Mary Briles, Case Manager RN, Bargaining Team member

Our Bargaining Team met with Management on July 26. We bargained with the Employer all day. The Employer is proposing an alternate wage scale which devalues the nursing care that Case Managers provide. Without Case Managers, the whole hospital grinds to a halt.

We demand that the Employer acknowledge the essential care that we provide to our patients!

With the first day of negotiations behind us, we await further information from Management to our Bargaining Team before we can confidently counter their most recent proposal.

Providence St. Peter RN - PSPH RNs Overwhelmingly Ratify Contract!

On May 25, the PSPH RN unit voted to approve the contract! RNs will receive their across-the-board increase on the first full pay period following May 25, which starts on June 5. Additionally all full-time and part-time RNs shall receive a $1,000 bonus (pro-rated to assigned FTE) on the first full pay period following ratification. 

Our next step is to finalize the agreement and for both parties to sign the contract. Once the contract is signed we will post the contract onto our website. This process can take between four to six months. In the meantime, please reference the redline vote document. 

If you have any questions about the contract or issues with your pay, please reach out to your union rep Erin McCoy emccoy@ufcw21.org . 

PSPH RN Bargaining Team: Mike Staley, Andy Dusablon Jacob Kostecka, Darlett Holm, Holly Wallace, Marcia Chinnick, Julia Douglas

Providence St. Peter RN - Online Contract Ratification Vote! Your Bargaining Committee Recommends a YES Vote!

On May 3, we reached an agreement with Providence St. Peter’s Hospital! We will be voting online on Wednesday, May 25 from 6:00AM to 8:00PM. The entire vote document shall be available for review 24 hours prior to the start of the online vote. 

We will be holding virtual vote meetings on Monday May 23 and Tuesday May 24 8:00AM to 9:00AM and 8:00PM to 9:00PM. During these meetings, we will be going over the vote documents and answering questions.

In order to vote, you must be a union member in good standing prior to the start of the vote. You will be receiving an online vote link from “SimplyVote” at 6:00AM on May 25. If you do not receive a link to the vote, please email your union representative Erin McCoy emccoy@ufcw21.org. Additionally we ask that you provide us with a non-Providence email address. We have noticed in the past that Providence’s email system blocks emails from “SimplyVote” and UFCW. 

If you do not receive UFCW emails, please check your junk/spam folder or update your contact information by May 20, 2022 at https://www.ufcw21.org/update-your-information. If you have any questions, please contact your bargaining team or union representative. 

PSPH RN Vote Meetings

• Monday, May 23 • 8:00 AM

• Monday, May 23 • 8:00 PM

• Tuesday, May 24 • 8:00 AM

• Tuesday, May 24 • 8:00 PM

https://zoom.us/join

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

PSPH RN Bargaining Team: Mike Staley, Andy Dusablon Jacob Kostecka, Darlett Holm, Holly Wallace, Marcia Chinnick, Julia Douglas

Providence St. Peter Hospital - We have reached a tentative agreement!

After six bargaining sessions, we have reached a tentative contract agreement with Providence management! In 2019, we had contentious negotiations with Providence where we fought for over a year to maintain our benefits and to win competitive wages. During this year’s negotiations, Providence told us that they wanted to reset their relationship with nurses and improve working conditions. We held them accountable at the bargaining table and throughout the bargaining process we worked collaboratively on issues like staffing, retention, floating, wages, benefits, and resolving patient assignment issues.

Through these conversations, we were able to achieve historic wins like enforceable staffing language, floating recall, an avenue to address orientation when floating, an equity and inclusion committee, better safety language, removal of several ghost steps from the wage scale, double time for incentive shifts, and competitive pay increases.

Our bargaining team is recommending a “YES” vote on the tentative agreement! We will be sending out a notice with the meeting dates to review the agreement and the online vote information.

In order to vote, you must be a union member in good-standing. To ensure you receive the link to vote online, we must have a personal email (a non-Providence email) for you on file. If you do not get email communications from UFCW 3000, please update your information online by Friday, May 20. Go to: ufcw21.org/update-your-information

In solidarity,

PSPH RN Bargaining Team

Mike Staley, Andy Dusablon Jacob Kostecka, Darlett Holm, Holly Wallace, Marcia Chinnick, Julia Douglas

Providence St. Peter Hospital RN - Bargaining update

On April 20, we had our third bargaining session with Management. We presented our proposals which address retention, safety, staffing, and compensation. Throughout these sessions Management appears to be listening to our requests for creative solutions to our staffing and retention issues. They recognize there is a staffing issue and wish to resolve it collaboratively. We expect Management to make a proposal which takes our requests into consideration. Our next bargaining sessions will be on April 25 and 26.

PSPH RN Bargaining Team: Mike Staley, Andy Dusablon Jacob Kostecka, Darlett Holm, Holly Wallace, Marcia Chinnick, Julia Douglas

Providence St. Peter Hospital - Bargaining begins!

We met with Providence Management for our first bargaining session on April 18. We presented our non-economic proposals and had productive dialogue about resolving workplace concerns. Management was receptive and had thoughtful responses. We are looking forward to having continued collaborative dialogue in our future sessions on April 19, 20, 25, and 26.

PSPH RN Bargaining Team: Mike Staley, Andy Dusablon Jacob Kostecka, Darlett Holm, Holly Wallace, Marcia Chinnick, Julia Douglas

Providence St. Peter Hospital Tech Wins First Contract!

On September 16, the Providence St. Peter’s Techs overwhelmingly approved their first contract! About seventeen months after organizing, we were able to obtain a great contract with competitive wage increases and job protections.

Our next step is for both parties to sign the contract, then we will distribute and post it on our website at: www.ufcw21.org. This process usually takes about one to two months. Your wage increases will go into effect the first full pay period following September 16, 2021. 

If you have any workplace or disciplinary issues please reach out to Union Rep Erin McCoy or the Membership Resource Center 206-436-6570. You can find more information about your Union rights, shop steward training, free college, Union discounts, and how to sign a Union membership application on https://www.ufcw21.org/new-members.

Welcome to UFCW 21, PSPH Techs, and congratulations on winning your first contract!

Bargaining Team: Josh Wood, Rae Lynn Korpi, Shapel Morgan, Colleen Castaneda

Providence St. Peter Tech - Contract Vote on September 16

We reached a tentative agreement with Providence St. Peter’s on August 30. The next step is for you to vote on the agreement. 

We will be going over the agreement at the vote meeting on September 13 via Zoom. The full agreement and wage rate will be available during the in-person vote on September 16. The contract must be ratified by a simple majority of voters. You cannot submit an absentee vote or electronic vote. 

PSPH Tech Vote Meeting via Zoom
Monday, September 13
6PM - 7PM

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

In-Person Vote @ Lacey Community Center
Thursday, September 16
6:30AM - 9:30AM
11AM - 2PM
4PM - 7PM

6729 Pacific Ave SE
Olympia, WA 98503
 
If you have any questions, please contact your union rep Erin McCoy or the bargaining team.

Our Tech Bargaining Team: Josh Wood (CT), Shapel Morgan (MRI), Rae Lynn Korpi (RT), Colleen Castaneda (Cath Lab)

Providence St. Peter Hospital Tech - We Have Reached an Agreement! Your Bargaining Team Fully Recommends a “YES” Vote!

After twenty hours of bargaining on August 30, we reached a tentative agreement with Providence St. Peter’s! After fourteen months at the bargaining table and eighteen months after unionizing, we were able to obtain a great first contract for the Tech unit. Our contract has a wage scale, longevity step increases, annual across-the-board wage increases, health insurance benefits, retirement benefits, and other job protections. The next step is for our unit to ratify the contract agreement. The full details of the agreement will be available in-person during our contract vote. 

We will be holding a vote meeting in the next few weeks to go over the highlights of the agreement and to answer any questions. A follow-up update will be sent out next week with the vote date/location and vote meeting dates. 

If you have any questions, please contact your union rep Erin McCoy or the bargaining team. 

In Solidarity, Your Tech Bargaining Team: Josh Wood (CT), Shapel Morgan (MRI), Rae Lynn Korpi (RT), Colleen Castaneda (Cath Lab)

Providence St. Peter Hospital (Tech) - No Deal Reached

On August 23, we met with Providence St. Peter’s. The Union Bargaining Team started the day drafting a wage proposal. We had to rethink and cost-out our proposal which took about six hours. While Providence may say that we wasted their time and hardly made movement, the reality is that our wage proposal is quite modest and we take drafting proposals very seriously.

Our proposal places everyone onto the wage scale depending on half your years of experience and a guarantee of a

6% wage increase upon ratification,

3% wage increase/ anniversary step increases/two-step progression for employees whose years of service do not match their wage step in 2021, and a 3% wage increase/ anniversary step increases/placement on the appropriate wage step dependent on your years of experience in 2022.

Our wage proposal takes into consideration the market and the two years of wage increases we have not received. Additionally, we have held that our EIB/PTO plan from 2019 must be reinstated. Our ULP around the PTO plan has moved to hearing since Providence believes there is no violation.

Meanwhile, Providence continues to propose eliminating EIB/a reduced PTO plan for employees with 10 years or more of service; a 4% guaranteed wage increase in 2021 and a two-step progression for employees whose years of service do not match their wage step, 1.5% wage increase in 2022,

1.5% wage increase in 2023; no increases to premiums; the ability to increase health insurance premiums; the ability to change the retirement plan;

$300 to $400 in education fund depending on your FTE.

Although we are getting closer to a deal you can see that wages and EIB/PTO are the biggest hurdles we are facing. During our session we had more than 10 community leaders join us and tell Providence that we need a fair contract now! We believe this action has shown Providence that we have the support of our community and patients.

We hope that we will get closer to a deal at our next session on Monday, August 30.

If you have any questions, please contact our Bargaining Team or Union Rep Erin McCoy @ 206-436-6598.