Sacred Heart Nurses Wary Of New Offer Bargaining Unit To Recommend Rejection Of Contract Based On Several Staffing Issues

Nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center will consider the most recent contract offer from hospital management for the next two weeks before deciding what to do.

On Feb. 4 and 5, the nurses will decide whether to accept the contract, ask management for more negotiations, begin informational picketing or go on strike.

But members of the nurses’ bargaining unit aren’t optimistic about the proposal, offered Monday at the last scheduled negotiation meeting.

“We would not recommend this contract,” said Barbara Heimbigner, co-chairwoman of the Sacred Heart unit of the Washington State Nurses Association.

Union negotiators are not satisfied with the hospital’s proposals on staffing issues, such as the nursing skill mix, rest between shifts and wages. The nurses also don’t want “mandatory call,” under which they could be required to be on call at the hospital.

The 1,123 registered nurses at the hospital have been working without a contract since Dec. 31.

“Throughout the negotiations, Sacred Heart has worked hard to reach compromises,” hospital spokeswoman Marilyn Thordarson said Tuesday.

Over the next two weeks, the nurses’ bargaining unit plans to educate nurses about the proposal.

Heimbigner said the nurses most likely will not approve the contract.

If the nurses choose to set up informational pickets, the nurses would remain on the job and picket during their off-hours.

If the nurses choose to strike, they would stop working regular shifts and would choose whether to return for emergencies.

In both cases, the nurses must give the hospital 10 days’ notice.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEXT Nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center will decide on Feb. 4 and 5 whether to accept or reject the contract proposal from hospital management.