After six months of tough negotiations and a powerful, newsworthy informational picket, our determination paid off — we’ve reached a tentative agreement! After seventeen hours of bargaining, we were finally able to reach a settlement agreement around 3am on Tuesday, October 7!
Read MoreWe will be holding an informational picket on Thursday, October 2, from 3:30pm to 5:00pm on the corner of Myhre Road and Ridgetop Blvd. We look forward to seeing our fellow RNs, friends, family, and community members on our informational picket line! Remember that children and friendly pets are welcomed!
Read MoreYesterday (Wednesday, September 17) we held an all-day contract vote on Management’s “Best and Final” offer we were presented with in our last bargaining session on September 5. While we were able to win many improvements on premiums and contract language prior to September 5th, there are still significant unresolved issues. In its totality, the Hospital’s last proposal was not enough to improve staffing, so we recommended a NO vote.
Read MoreOn Friday, September 5 our Bargaining Team met with Management to continue negotiations. We began at 9am and stayed until September 6 at 2:30am Unfortunately, in their last proposal that would resolve the remaining issues, we were given a “Best and Final” offer. We are recommending a “no” vote and moving forward with a contract vote and informational picket to highlight our issues and share our message with the community.
Read MoreOn Monday, August 25, our RN Bargaining Team met with Hospital management to continue negotiations. We secured a tentative agreement that locks in the Hospital’s 401(k) contributions for the life of the contract—management cannot cut them. We also won new language granting RNs access to the Hospital’s cash balance retirement plan beginning January 2027.
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Bargaining Team: Kim Fraser, Pre-Op; Janice Brown, FBC; Meredith Francisco, Med Surg; Lindsey Gearllach, Obs; Tammy Olson, ICU
On Tuesday, August 19, our bargaining team met with management for our 17th joint bargaining session since April. In the morning, we were presented with a package proposal from the employer that unfortunately ties our efforts to establish break relief RNs for all shifts to dropping our proposed robust staffing ratios. We have not yet responded to this but feel we need to establish some solution to our staffing issues that goes beyond the basics of what the law requires.
In our previous bargaining session a few weeks ago, we made a large move and chose to move away from our proposal to get our bargaining unit on the Sound Variable Annuity Pension Trust and instead codify the employer match to our 401K in our contract. This also means accepting management's suggestion that RNs also have access to the alternative retirement plan provided by Common Spirit. We were frustrated this week that the counterproposal drafted by management to resolve this issue was vague and did not spell out the matching percentages they say they are willing to commit to.
Additionally, we continue to experience resistance from the employer on aspects of our proposals around workplace violence. Considering the rise in violence experienced in hospitals, and in particular the recent murder at Allenmore Hospital in Tacoma, we strongly believe that robust safety protocols are for the benefit of all of our coworkers, our patients, and the public in general. Yet this management responsibility continues to be viewed by the employer primarily through the lens of the cost of certain proposals. This raises the question for us: How much is our safety worth to Saint Michael Medical Center?
Please continue to share our community support letter on social media and sign it yourself if you haven't already:
We will return to the bargaining table on August 25 and have two more sessions scheduled in September.
This summer, hospitals across the state took a few more big steps toward implementing Washington’s safer staffing law, a union member-led measure to help nurses deliver the level of care their patients deserve.
At St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale, WA, medical-surgical nurse Meredith Francisco, who served on the new staffing committee, says the process worked out well enough. However, as many of us suspected when the landmark legislation passed in 2023, she and other nurses see room for improvement. Workers also voice serious concerns about loopholes that hospital managers already appear to be exploiting.
Our Bargaining team will be holding a meeting at the UFCW 3000 Silverdale office this Thursday (08/07/2025) after our day of negotiations scheduled with Management.
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On Monday, July 28, our Bargaining Team met with Management for our fourteenth joint bargaining session. We were given an economic proposal that would put our wages below those of St. Joseph Medical Center, an idea we were underwhelmed by. Other pieces they responded to were:
Retirement: they continue to offer a continuation of the existing 401K match and the potential addition of their cash balance option pension proposal as an alternative to the 401K, but have rejected our proposal to add Saint Michael to the Sound Variable Annuity Pension Trust.
Holidays: Management continues to reject adding Juneteenth to our existing holidays.
Contract Ratification Bonus: While they put a ratification bonus on the table this week, it was $500 for .9 FTEs and above, with this amount pro-rated for lower FTEs (per diems would be classified as .2 under their proposal).
Other items we traded continued proposals on were:
Mandatory call.
A workplace violence memorandum to address safety in the workplace.
Our next Contract Action Team Meeting will be on July 31 at 6pm. Please join us to discuss how we can keep the pressure on Management to get a fair contract soon!
Meeting ID: 893 9273 5171 Passcode: 798196
If you haven’t already, please sign our community support letter and share with friends and family.
On Thursday, July 24 our Bargaining Team had a joint bargaining session with Management. We have continued to push them on our need for a wholistic approach to break relief.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, July 16, your bargaining team met once again with the hospital for another joint negotiation session. As we move deeper into bargaining, we've begun identifying our top priorities—but we can't win the contract we deserve without nurses stepping up. We'll be discussing these priorities at our next Contract Action Team (CAT) meeting (date will be announced next week), and we need more nurses to get involved and show the hospital that we're united, organized, and ready to fight.
Incremental increases to charge/resource nurse premium pay over the life of the contract
New language confirming the intent that charge nurses should not carry patient loads—with a commitment from leadership to exhaust all other RN options first. This is a direct result of nurses demanding safe, manageable assignments.
Preserving our current PTO and EIB accrual rates—a win in the face of the hospital's push to move RNs onto a PTO/Sick bank with less accruals.
We also pushed the hospital hard on issues they continue to sidestep:
Establishing a break relief system that complies with the law and guarantees nurses real, uninterrupted breaks.
Basic safety measures to protect RNs on the job. Nurses deserve a workplace where their safety isn't up for debate.
Real incentives for mandatory call shifts that establish a more equitable system for call and incentives to cover vacant call shifts.
We're also preparing to launch a community action campaign—and we need your help spreading the word. Share our message with your friends, family, and neighbors. The more voices we have behind us, the louder we'll be.
| Hospital Proposals | UFCW 3000 Proposals |
|---|---|
| Wages: 5.25% two pay periods after ratification, 3.25% in 2025, 3.50% in 2026 | Wages: 13.75% in 2025, 5% in 2026, 5% in 2027 |
| Hospital Base rate: |
St. Joe's Base Rate: $46.02 (2025), $47.86 (2026), $49.77 (2027) |
| Rejected longevity and retention bonuses | Proposed longevity and retention bonuses |
| Rejected pension proposal and did not propose improvements to the 401k plan | Proposed that RNs maintain current CHI's 401k plan and Employer make contributions to a variable annuity pension plan, like the one St. Joe's Pharmacy and Jefferson Healthcare RNs currently have |
| Rejected understaffing premium | Proposed $5/hour understaffing premium |
| Rejected float premium for non-float pool nurses | Proposed float premium for non-float nurses floating within the hospital |
| Rejected staffing ratios | Proposed safe staffing ratios aligned with national nursing standards |
| Rejected incentive for picking up vacant shifts; offered 1.5x pay only for .9 FTEs+ picking up a shift on their day off | Proposed incentive for all vacant shifts that fall below 80% of the staffing plan |
| Rejected premiums for covering surgical tech or CV tech roles; proposed only $1 certification pay for RCIS or RCES. NEW Will be paid the higher wage rate if performing work of a higher paid classification. | Proposed $2–$5 premium for RNs covering surgical or CV tech shifts |
| Proposed security systems installed by May 2026 in new tower units | Proposed security systems by December 2025, aligned with the tower's expected opening |
| Rejected weapon detection systems in the Emergency Department | Proposed installing weapon detection in the Emergency Department |
| NEW Proposed mandatory navy blue scrubs $100 stipend | Rejected mandatory navy blue scrubs |
| Proposed mandatory call shifts and a $15–$20/hour bonus only after the final schedule is posted | Proposed $15/hour for picking up before the schedule posts, $20/hour after, and limits on mandatory call |
| Proposed 1.5x pay for .9 FTEs+ picking up shifts on days off | Proposed incentive 1.5x or 2x for all vacant shifts that fall below 80% of the staffing plan |
| NEW Proposed a 1-year pilot break relief assignment (not a position) for inpatient units only, including OR and ED | Proposed four dedicated break relief RN positions for all units within 21 days of ratification |
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Tentative Agreements:
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On Wednesday, July 2, our Bargaining Team met with Saint Michael Medical Center Management for another joint bargaining session. In the morning we worked on responses to nearly all of the economic items on the table.
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On June 26, we met with SMMC management for our eleventh bargaining session, where the hospital presented what they called a "comprehensive counterproposal." While there was some movement on break relief RNs, bereavement leave, preceptor pay, and float pay, management's wage proposal and response to staffing remain deeply disappointing.
The hospital proposed a wage increase of 5.25% upon ratification—a number that still leaves SMMC RNs behind St. Joseph's pay rates. Despite repeatedly hearing from RNs that unsafe staffing is driving burnout and turnover, the hospital offered no real solution on staffing. In fact, when we presented our staffing proposal again, management responded with deafening silence.
They continue to insist that they're "staffing above the matrix" and claim that contractual guardrails are unnecessary. We strongly disagree. Every day, RNs are working below matrix staffing levels due to chronic short staffing, floating to other units to fill gaps, or taking full assignments as charge nurses—sometimes doing both at once. This is not safe. This is not sustainable.
The hospital's message is clear: They're not listening.
Instead of offering meaningful fixes, they've doubled down on targeting specific departments. For instance, their latest proposal would restrict scrub privileges to only Emergency Department RNs—and they've rejected any kind of ED premium despite the high-intensity work and constant short staffing in the ED.
We are at a critical moment in negotiations. While there's been some progress, we are still far from winning what RNs need most: fair wages and enforceable staffing protections. Competitive contracts at Multicare and Providence include understaffing premiums and stronger staffing language—and SMMC RNs deserve no less.
If we want to win the contract we need, we need to show we're ready to fight for it. One way to take action right now:
Sign the strike pledge card >>
Let management know we're united and serious about what's at stake—our safety, our patients, and our profession.
The strike pledge card is to show our commitment to winning the best contract possible—your signature indicates that if we have to reject an offer on the table in the future by a vote, you will also vote to authorize a strike.
Together, we can win the contract we deserve.
Bargaining Team: Kim Fraser, Pre-Op; Janice Brown, FBC; Meredith Francisco, Med Surg; Lindsey Gearllach, Obs; Tammy Olson, ICU
On June 12, we met with hospital management for our ninth bargaining session. At our last session, we presented proposals aimed at addressing the ongoing staffing crisis, including:
$5/hour staffing premium for nurses working below the staffing plan
$5/hour Charge RN premium for nurses carrying a patient load due to understaffing or working double charge assignments
Double-time pay for picking up vacant shifts after the schedule is posted
Incentives for vacant call shifts
Break relief RNs for all inpatient units—including the OR and Emergency Department
The hospital rejected every single one of these proposals.
When we asked management to explain why they turned down solutions designed by bedside nurses to fix a staffing crisis we live through every day, their response was insulting:
"You are asking for things that we do not think you need."
Let's be clear—hospital executives do not get to decide what nurses need to safely care for patients. Nurses do.
Our patients need more RNs and more support on the floors. The only way to get there is by recruiting and retaining nurses—not just offering flashy sign-on bonuses while ignoring the needs of the people already showing up every day.
Instead of investing in long-term staffing solutions, SMMC is choosing to underpay current staff and reject common-sense incentives. They're prioritizing temporary staff over the stability and experience that long-term nurses bring to the bedside.
SMMC must face the reality: you cannot fix staffing by ignoring the nurses doing the work.
We've made it clear: We need to be competitive—with St. Joseph's, with hospitals across Puget Sound, and even with Seattle, where many Kitsap nurses are now working for better pay and better conditions.
We're awaiting a response from management, and we hope they come back with a counterproposal that reflects what we know is needed—not what they think we can settle for.
Our next bargaining session is June 18.
June 25
8:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Bargaining Team: Kim Fraser, Pre-Op; Janice Brown, FBC; Meredith Francisco, Med Surg; Lindsey Gearllach, Obs; Tammy Olson, ICU
This Wednesday, May 21 our bargaining team met with leadership of Saint Michael Medical Center for what was our eighth bargaining session.
In the morning we presented ideas on how we might come to agreement on major outstanding economic issues, including:
Staffing
Charge Nurse duties
Mandatory Call
Open Call
Break relief shifts
While we caucused after this, we began the process of crafting our next set of other economic items not addressed above such as wages and premium pay.
In the afternoon, management responded on the outstanding non-economic issues we do not have Tentative Agreements on already. This shrinking group of sections of the contract we need to respond to them on includes the Residency Program, precepting, and our proposed workplace violence prevention program.
"We have many Tentative Agreements, but we are still hoping for some more movement from management on major economic issues."
— Lindsay Gearrllach (OBS)
We're asking everyone to start wearing gold and blue UFCW 3000 swag on bargaining days! We'll be distributing bandanas and other items to show unity and solidarity.
June 12
June 18
June 26
If you haven't already, sign our Strike Pledge Card! >>
May 27
7:00 PM
If you are not receiving our bargaining updates or emails, please Update Your Information! >>
Bargaining Team: Kim Fraser, Pre-Op; Janice Brown, FBC; Meredith Francisco, Med Surg; Lindsey Gearllach, Obs; Tammy Olson, ICU
On Thursday, May 15 our Bargaining Team met for our seventh joint bargaining session with Saint Michael Medical Center. In the morning, we passed our fourth comprehensive economic proposal to management for consideration.
Read MoreWe are the Union. The members of UFCW 3000 are over 50,000 members working in grocery, retail, health care, meat packing, cannabis, & other industries across Washington state, north-east Oregon, and northern Idaho. UFCW 3000 is a chartered member of UFCW International with over 1.4 million workers in North America.
To build a powerful Union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities.
