Over the past month and a half, the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) and Skyline Hospital conducted six bargaining negotiations but have yet to agree on nurses’ wages. Skyline, located in White Salmon, employs around 40 nurses and offers 24-hour emergency department, general surgery, rehabilitative and other critical services.
Over the past month and a half, the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) and Skyline Hospital conducted six bargaining negotiations but have yet to agree on nurses’ wages. Skyline, located in White Salmon, employs around 40 nurses and offers 24-hour emergency department, general surgery, rehabilitative and other critical services.
WHITE SALMON — The Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) and Skyline Hospital met for their sixth round of bargaining negotiations on Aug. 13. While the parties have agreed on some non-economic changes to WSNA’s contract, which expired July 1, there’s still distance on the issue of competitive, livable wages.
According to a market analysis by WSNA, on average, Skyline pays its nurses about 16.5% less than those at comparable hospitals like Adventist Health and Klickitat Valley Health (KVH). At the same time, Skyline spent around $1 million on traveling, or agency, nurses in 2023 and paid them over $30 more per hour than the highest-earning staff nurse.
Columbia Gorge News spoke to three WSNA nurses at Skyline for this story, and two wished to remain anonymous to preserve their relationship with the hospital while voicing their concerns. In their new contract, WSNA aims to obtain fairer wages by reducing Skyline’s dependency on traveling nurses.
“We don’t want the hospital to be filled up with travelers because they don’t have the commitment we have,” said one nurse, Julie [not her real name]. “You lose the circle of care when you have travelers rather than permanent staff.”
Since WSNA nurses eat at Feast and shop at Harvest Market, people in White Salmon and the surrounding areas feel more comfortable coming to Skyline because they know who’s working there. As Julie also explained, Skyline ironically relies on traveling nurses because their wages simply don’t attract local staff.
“The reason we have traveling nurses is because we don’t offer enough money for the nurses in this community to work here because they make more money over there,” she said. “Why would you come work for less over here?”
Another nurse, Avery [not her real name], said her hourly wages at Skyline match what she made at a different hospital six years ago, even though she has much more experience now and uses more of her paycheck to cover basic necessities. According to the City of White Salmon, 25.9% of Klickitat County residents are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their household income on housing-related costs.
“If the wages don’t improve, unfortunately, I’m one of the employees who will have to leave because I just can’t physically make those finances work,” said Avery.
Benefits are another issue. Ronnie Johnson, who has spent 16 of her 30 years in nursing at Skyline, was told how a different staff nurse had to dole more than $700 per month in order to cover her child through employer-sponsored insurance.
Skyline’s most recent proposal would put wages for WSNA nurses an average of 4% behind those at KVH throughout the duration of their contract — and that’s when comparing KVH wages in 2023. The nurses’ union at KVH is also renegotiating their contract, which will likely make Skyline’s suggested wages even less competitive, according to WSNA Marketing and Communications Manager Bobbi Nodell.
All of this comes amidst a shortage of registered nurses (RN) expected to intensify as baby boomers age and require more healthcare. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, federal authorities expect a shortage of 78,610 full-time RNs in 2025, and Washington has the largest projected nursing shortage in 2035.
“I think a lot of people in the profession left after COVID,” said Johnson. “They were just totally burned out or disillusioned with the system, and many of us are retirement age.”
Thus far, Skyline has canceled two bargaining sessions. Julie noted that Skyline’s Chief Financial Officer, Brenda Schneider, hasn’t attended any sessions and Avery said the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Matt Kollman, hasn’t either.
“It feels like [Kollman] isn’t willing to take the time to hear our concerns face-to-face or address us personally,” said Avery. “In my head, it feels like a smart negotiating tactic.” As Kollman and Schneider oversee Skyline’s finances, their absence in bargaining prevents active dialogue about wages from taking place, which has made the entire process much longer, according to Avery.
Skyline has said Kollman is involved in negotiations behind the scenes and that Schneider runs a cost analysis after each session for Skyline to evaluate WSNA's proposals.
Kollman provided a statement on the negotiations over email. “Skyline is fortunate to work with many wonderful nurses. We remain committed to reaching a fair and equitable agreement with the union,” he said.
Kollman called the sessions “productive” and affirmed that Skyline will continue to provide high-quality, local care, it’s just a matter of balancing the needs of Skyline’s staff and the communities they serve.
So far, WSNA nurses at Skyline have collected more than 200 signatures from community members backing their bargaining efforts and received written support from White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler, along with City Councilors David Lindley and Jim Ransier. Despite their disagreements with management, the nurses remain in solidarity.
“The team at Skyline is incredible. It’s small, but everyone works really, really hard and helps each other out,” said Avery. “I just hope the skill, expertise and education required to do that is appreciated and respected.”
“I think we do a really good service for the community, and I’d like to see that continue, but unless we have the staff to man it that are committed to the community — not just travelers that come and go — I think the quality of that service is going to deteriorate,” said Johnson.
“We’re passionate about our hospital. We’re passionate about our work. We want equal rights. That’s what we want,” said Julie. The next negotiation session will take place in early September.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
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