With so many of our chapters in bargaining, staying united and persistent is more important now than ever. We know with our collective strength, we’re well on the way to winning strong economic agreements and contracts across our union!
Last week at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, we voted to take action and bring our fight for a strong next contract to the public – and we nearly unanimously voted YES! Harnessing the support of our friends, neighbors, union siblings, and patients will show PeaceHealth administration we won’t accept the inadequate proposals they’ve given at the bargaining table, and we’re ready to take action and fight for what we deserve.
We had our first bargaining session with Swedish Medical Center this week. We were glad to hear management express a desire to prioritize patient care and fix the staffing crisis. To show our strength and power, we are holding unity breaks every Wednesday through bargaining, this Wednesday being our first one. We’re united as ever and geared up to win a competitive economic package that invests in us as frontline workers.
As those of us at UW Harborview Medical Center and UW Medical Center – Northwest & Clinics in Seattle prepare to head back to the bargaining table to negotiate an economic reopener, we held votes this week on bargaining proposals that would address recruitment and retention.
We’re in the midst of bargaining new contracts with Virginia Mason Franciscian Health at both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Enumclaw and St. Anne Hospital in Burien. Unfortunately, we received an insulting counter-proposal from St. Elizabeth management five months later, and have not received a reply from St. Anne management. We’re keeping up the fight for contracts that respect our experience and value our sacrifices!
Other chapters in bargaining include DSHS/DOH across the state, Wellfound Behavioral Health in Tacoma, Trios in Kennewick, and MultiCare Good Samaritan in Puyallup, and Pro-Techs and Pharmacists at Valley Medical Center in Renton. Shout out to bargaining team members across our union, and all our fellow members holding strong and staying united!