8.Full Credit for Past Experience for All
Since we founded our union at Group Health in 1983, we have developed a wage scale, put everyone on the scale, and vastly expanded it over the years. We have also won the right for all new hires to be placed on the scale at a step reflecting full, year-for-year credit for all contiguous recent experience.
Now, in 2010, the vast majority of nurses at Group Health are at the step on the wage scale that reflects full credit for their past experience as an RN or ARNP. Eastern Washington RNs are finally joining their Western Washington partners on the scale as a result of our 2008 campaign. The Nursing Home Services Nurse Practitioners who recently joined our union just won the ability to receive full credit for experience as they join our pay scale.
However, as we have pushed to improve our wage scale over the years, some nurses have been "left behind" at a lower step than their experience. They may have been hired at Group Health back before new hires received full credit for prior experience or they may have worked at Group Health during a time when people did not move up a step every year.
Now, it's time to organize to solve this problem so we have full credit for past experience for all. The first step is for all RNs and ARNPs to participate in this survey, so we can determine the scope of the problem and what movement it will take to get everyone to the right step.
Now, in 2010, the vast majority of nurses at Group Health are at the step on the wage scale that reflects full credit for their past experience as an RN or ARNP. Eastern Washington RNs are finally joining their Western Washington partners on the scale as a result of our 2008 campaign. The Nursing Home Services Nurse Practitioners who recently joined our union just won the ability to receive full credit for experience as they join our pay scale.
However, as we have pushed to improve our wage scale over the years, some nurses have been "left behind" at a lower step than their experience. They may have been hired at Group Health back before new hires received full credit for prior experience or they may have worked at Group Health during a time when people did not move up a step every year.
Now, it's time to organize to solve this problem so we have full credit for past experience for all. The first step is for all RNs and ARNPs to participate in this survey, so we can determine the scope of the problem and what movement it will take to get everyone to the right step.