Building A Strong Future Together

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members recognize how important it is to have a strong union in tough economic times and voted 3,081 to 1,013 in favor of our union’s Strong Future plan. We voted across the state over a 5 week period in October and November with the polls open a cumulative 400 hours at over 80 locations in our workplaces across the state.

Many of our employers are freezing or reducing pay and benefits for non-union employees, and management has also asked some of our members to re-open our contracts to give back some of our hard-earned wages and benefits. Our union’s Executive Board passed a resolution that we won’t open up any of our contracts.

Our plan for A Strong Future will rebuild our union’s Strength and Defense Fund and provide member leadership training so that we can be strong at the bargaining table.  The plan also includes the development of a nurse council and a tech council to bring together members across chapters to work on common professional issues. Service workers will also work together across chapters on staffing and safer working conditions.

Our plan funds this work with a 15 cent increase in dues for every $100 a member makes on January 1st, 2010 and again on January 1st, 2011. That will take our dues rate from 1.5% to 1.8% and means an increase of $1 to $3 per paycheck each of the next two years.

To maintain fairness between higher and lower paid members, the monthly cap on dues paid by higher paid members will increase by $5 each January 1st for the next three years.

We will be holding meetings and conducting surveys to gather input into planning our next steps to build a Strong Future.  Visit here to submit ideas.
 
The stakes are high for our patients, our professions and our families, and we need everyone to participate and build our strength. 

 “I have been with Group Health for over 30 years. Throughout these years, I have witnessed a lot of layoffs, cutbacks in hiring, wage concessions, closure of some departments, subcontracting of others, and threats of more. Knowing that we have a strong union helps me breathe easier. Belonging to a union is the greatest job security investment one can make at any workplace.”
James U. Ezeokeke, EVS, Bellevue Medical Center, Group Health Cooperative

 “It is clearer than ever – we need a strong contract, a strong union even at public district hospitals like Olympic Medical Center. Our contract has better standards and better protections than being a non-union employee. Now, we need to raise standards for Dietary workers, too!”
Mary Reynolds, RN, OB
Executive Board Representative
Olympic Medical Center

 “We’ve made a lot of progress in our efforts to raise standards for community mental health. We need to stay strong as a union in order to protect what we’ve won and to keep going forward.”
Mike Stazsak, Therapist, CPC
Deborah Townsend,
Case Manager, Compass Health
Lee Furin, Case Manager,
Catholic Community Services NW