Providence Medical Group Walla Walla

One of the pillars of us becoming union is us coworkers coming together to improve our working conditions, negotiate a contract with our employer over wages, benefits, and other concerns and needs. Bosses like to talk about “the union” as if it’s a separate entity but, the union is US!

The employees and our “employer” will begin bargaining our contract after we win our election, a process that management must participate in, and what we negotiate will become legally binding contract – this is called “collective bargaining”. The people who negotiate on our behalf will be a group of us PMG union workers and a union staffer who specializes in contract negotiation, and our starting point will be our current working standards and policies. A contract includes everything from pay and benefits, to process and protections for how staff can be disciplined.

We will decide what we want to negotiate over and prioritize improving. Once our team feels we’ve reached the best contract we can obtain, all union PMG workers will review and vote to approve the contract offer. A majority of us need to approve the contract offer, and a contract can only be approved by us.

The first step is to fill out a union authorization card to show legal interest you want a union. These cards only go to the union staffer supporting us in our efforts and are never seen by management. When most of us have completed cards, we are able to file for a secret ballot election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  A board agent, sworn to uphold federal law of protecting and supporting workers rights to form unions and have a just union election then works to schedule and conduct our union vote, normally taking place about a month after we file for the election. This vote will be secret ballot, conducted by the NLRB agent, normally over multiple voting times during a set day, at a secure in-person location. When the vote date/time(s) and location has been scheduled we will all be officially notified. The vote count will happen immediately after the voting poll closes and is open to any of us that want to observe. It’s a majority rule, so we should all vote and have our voices heard.

Workers are protected under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to organize a union. We are allowed to talk about our wages, working conditions, and worksite concerns, and about forming a union as long as it doesn’t distract from our work tasks. It is illegal for PMG management to promise, interrogate, threaten, or spy.

Find out more here »

As much as we hope management will stay impartial with our choice to form a union, often bosses aren’t interested in their workers becoming unionized. Some things that workers tend to experience leading to a union vote can look like management spreading misinformation, provoking fear, or even being over attentive and “changing their ways”. Employers are legally allowed to say they think you should vote no on forming a union and can hold meetings to discuss this and send out emails or other communications.

See attached of common phrases management says during union drives »

We will not pay any dues until our first contract is voted in and approved by us, they will be part of what we review for the contract vote and will be proportional to our pay. Would you agree to a contract that doesn’t give you more than we currently have? Dues are not a bill, they are the collective funds we bring together that runs the whole thing.

A card is kept confidential, between us and the union staffers and the NLRB agent overseeing the election process. It is never seen by management, and they will never know how many people have even completed cards, just that we have enough to file for an election. The card is your acknowledgment that you want a union, and that you are interested in our ability to negotiate for a contract and rights.

Thousands of Providence Medical Group workers are already unionized members with UFCW 3000 including:

Providence Centralia Hospital
Providence Holy Family Hospital
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center
Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital
Providence St. Mary Medical Center
Providence St. Peter Hospital

Unionizing Providence Medical Group Walla Walla would allow us to voice our needs and concerns.
We are tired of being overworked, underpaid, and understaffed.
We deserve respect, consideration, and ownership in regard to changes that impact our workflow and processes.
We want our voices to be heard, again and again.
We are the foundation of PMG WW.
Our voices deserve to have impact.