Letter: Kadlec nurses don’t get time off to negotiate contract
In a recently released statement, Kadlec stated that they had offered several negotiating dates to the Washington State Nurses Association for the month of December and that those dates have been refused. I would like to clarify.
The nurses who comprise the negotiating team at Kadlec are nurses on staff, they work at the hospital. On the days that they serve on the negotiations team they are not paid, they must use their PTO (paid time off) benefit to fill their hours, or go without pay.
December is an extraordinarily busy time at Kadlec, and most other hospitals, as many people have met their insurance deductibles and want to get various procedures done. This impacts the entire hospital. There is not enough staff to cover the negotiating team should they be absent for negotiations.
We would love to be negotiating right now, but those who comprise our team choose first to care for our community.
Donna L. Osborne RN CNOR, Kennewick
This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Letter: Kadlec nurses don’t get time off to negotiate contract."