Victory! New contract at Harborview

Our new contract at Harborview means better staffing and better care!

For more than a year we’ve worked together to show hospital administration that we’re serious about settling a contract that improves staffing, recruitment, retention, and the care we can provide. They heard our message and our new contract makes significant improvements on our top priorities:

• Wage increases to help us and our families
• Agreement from Harborview to fully staff to the matrix that is recommended by our joint Staffing Committee.
• A new break relief nurse pilot program to test on two acute floors with six designated relief nurses. This means we will be able to test a program that allows us to safely take our breaks instead of doubling up on patient loads.
• Tracked meal and rest breaks to identify solutions to missed breaks.
• A commitment to create a culture of safe self-reporting and addressing errors first through a systems approach rather than a punitive one.
• Full Inclusion of electroneurodiagnostic technologists into our contract.
• Increase in education opportunities
• Our premium for rest between shifts is protected as current practice for nurses, plus we add a new shift break premium for electroneurodiagnostic technologists (ENDs) along with the Healthcare Specialists and Social Workers.
• Parental leave use of up to ten sick days to bond with child in addition to using your vacation or comp accruals.
• Bereavement leave guaranteed to three paid days. Our contract read “up to” three days and this was being applied inconsistently. Now everyone will consistently receive three days at a time when they need it most.
• Healthcare specialist and social workers now have fixed and adjustable schedule options for calculating overtime payment and allowing flexibility in order to provide them scheduling options in their practice.

Ask your delegate or organizer for more information about our great new contract!

“Our new contract moves us forward, not backwards!”
Doug MacDonald, RN, 5E
“Now we can continue the work we started in bargaining, implementing our contract on our units and keeping our union voices strong. Our contract is a good foundation for the work we have ahead of us.”
Irene Mitchell, RN, 7MB