EVERETT — Nurses have rejected a potential union contract with Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.
Nearly 900 nurses voted Friday on a tentative agreement following eight months of bargaining with the hospital. The vote failed, with 51.8% of nurses voting against. The contract needed a majority to pass.
Providence was “disappointed” by the vote, spokesperson Erika Hermanson said Monday.
Without a contract, the hospital “is hindered in its ability to retain existing nurses and recruit new nurses to Snohomish County,” she said.
Most union bargaining team members recommended the rejected agreement that would have provided pay comparable to other hospitals in the region over three years, increased benefits and what the union considered a big win: the state’s first contractual staffing premium, or extra pay for nurses during understaffed shifts. The agreement also would have required the hospital’s staffing committee — including executives and nurses — to approve widespread changes to the hospital’s staffing model.
A majority of nurses voted against the agreement because it didn’t have strong enough language to keep the hospital accountable to its agreed staffing plans, according to the union.
“We will be continuing our quest for improved staffing levels crucial to delivering the quality care our patients and community deserve,” the union wrote in a statement Friday. “Since the beginning, our unwavering dedication to refining staffing language, amplifying our voices within the Hospital Staffing Committee, and aligning with staffing law guidelines has been steadfast.”
The tentative agreement followed months of public action by the nurses, including town halls and a strike in November. Nurses walked off the job for five days in mid-November over staffing. Nurses say the hospital has not kept to the staffing plans set by the staffing committee. Understaffing exhausts staff and endangers patients.
The understaffing is partly due to a nationwide nurse shortage, and there is no easy solution, Chief Nursing Officer Michelle Lundstrom has said.
In early negotiations, nurses asked Providence for a contract with set nurse-to-patient ratios. Providence declined, as leaders argued ratios would stifle an innovative staffing model the company is looking to implement as a long-term staffing solution. Providence also offered 21.5% raises across the board and incentive pay for nurses to come into work. Competitive pay would help hire and retain nurses, Lundstrom said.
In lieu of staffing ratios, nurses bargained for a pay premium during understaffed shifts. Lundstrom had said Providence would not consider a staffing premium because it “would not solve the staffing crisis.” But the strike pushed Providence to accept the staffing premium, according to the union, though it wasn’t enough for nurses.
On Friday, nurses also declined a second strike by a 47% vote. Two-thirds of nurses would have needed to vote in favor, for a strike to go forward.
As a next step, the union will survey nurses for specific feedback on the contract offer. Providence and the union are set to continue contract talks in January.
Sydney Jackson: 425-339-3430; sydney.jackson@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @_sydneyajackson.
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