UW Medical Center nurses need your solidarity TODAY!

Send letters to UW Regents urging them to end anti-union bargaining stance

SEATTLE (Nov. 10, 2015) — Registered nurses at the University of Washington Medical Center need your help. They are struggling to overcome management opposition to achieving something that most other union members take for granted in their contracts: union security.

For the past year, these RNs represented by the Washington State Nurses Association have sought to get a union-security clause in their contract so all nurses pay their fair share for representation. Through 13 bargaining sessions — including three with a mediator — they have sought this fundamental tenet of almost every union contract, but management has refused. The WSNA even proposed putting union security to a separate vote of the nurses, including both WSNA members and represented nonmembers. Management said “no,” adding that even if the nurses voted, they wouldn’t honor their wishes.

“Union security is fundamental to providing a more level playing field between labor and management in the collective bargaining process,” wrote Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, in a letter sent to the UW Board of Regents this week. “Every other medical center attached to the University of Washington has union security in their contract. It is past time for the UWMC to respect the rights and dignity of the RNs at their facility.” (See the full letter below.)

TAKE A STAND — The RNs at the University of Washington Medical Center need the support of the union community! With bargaining continuing this week, the nurses at UWMC need your help right away. All unions — especially those with members at UW — are urged to send a letter to the UW Board of Regents via email right away at regents@uw.edu (and CC the WSNA at chimmelsbach@wsna.org) urging them to end this blatantly anti-union bargaining position. Tell them:

“What you are doing is blatantly anti-union, and as members/leaders of _______ union, we strongly object to your anti-union practices and will support the Registered Nurses at the University of Washington and their union, the Washington State Nurses Association, in every way possible.”

Please make sure you send copies of your letters of support to WSNA, preferably on your union letterhead, so that they can post them online and share with UW Medical Center management. Please email your letter as an attachment to Christine Himmelsbach at chimmelsbach@wsna.org  Or, mail it to WSNA, UWMC Letters of Support, 575 Andover Park West, Suite 101, Seattle, WA 98188.  Thank you for your support.

Following is Johnson’s letter to the UW Board of Regents:

VIA ELECTRONIC AND U.S. MAIL
regents@uw.edu

University of Washington Board of Regents
UW Office of the Board of Regents
Room 139 Gerberding Hall
Box 351264
Seattle, WA 98195-1264

Dear Regents:

On behalf of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and our 450,000 affiliated union members, I urge you to end your resistance to union security for the Registered Nurses at the University of Washington Medical Center.

Union security is fundamental to providing a more level playing field between labor and management in the collective bargaining process. Every other medical center attached to the University of Washington has union security in their contract. It is past time for the UWMC to respect the rights and dignity of the RNs at their facility.

The truth is that the RN’s are the heart and soul of your institution. They put the “care” in health care, and are the ones who provide UWMC with the fine reputation it possesses.

Continued resistance in the face of majority support for union security just drives down morale and makes the UWMC administration appear out of touch.

Please let me know if you would like to speak further on this issue.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey G. Johnson
President, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO