Providence St. Peter nurses vote down contract proposal

Nurses at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia have overwhelmingly voted down a contract proposal that would have changed the way they get paid time off.

The nurses voted Wednesday 544 to 1 to reject the contract proposal from hospital management, following the recommendation from their union’s bargaining team.

The union represents about 1,200 nurses at Providence St. Peter.

Paid leave has been the sticking point since the two sides began negotiating in May, said Jacob Kostecka, a nurse at St. Peter for 12 years and a member of the bargaining team.

Nurses now get a certain amount of sick leave and vacation time. According to the union, under the proposal they would get paid time off for both uses that is less than what they get now, with new caps on accrued time off.

Starting in 2020, Providence would offer a supplement to the state’s new paid family and medical leave program under certain conditions, according to the union.

Following Wednesday’s vote, the bargaining team decided to let the current contract expire Sept. 1, canceling out the no-strike clause, according to Kostecka.

In a statement to The Olympian, Providence said it looks forward to future negotiations.

“Providence St. Peter Hospital wants the same thing as our caregivers represented by unions — contracts with competitive pay and benefits that reward caregivers for their hard work and dedication to our community. This will allow us to attract and retain the best talent while continuing to provide affordable, high-quality care for all,” it said.

This is the first time nurses at St. Peter have negotiated a contract since Providence Health & Services merged with St. Joseph Health to become Providence St. Joseph Health in 2016.

In June, workers at St. Peter held an information picket — which is not a strike — to demonstrate against the contract changes.

Workers at other Providence St. Joseph hospitals in Washington have voted down similar contract proposals. The next step would be to gauge their unions’ willingness to strike, said Stacey Opiopio with UFCW 21, which represents St. Peter’s nurses.

“We don’t want to strike, but we’re not afraid to,” Kostecka said.

This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Providence St. Peter nurses vote down contract proposal."