Seattle Children’s nurses vote overwhelmingly to authorize strike

Registered nurses with Seattle Children’s Hospital voted overwhelmingly Monday to authorize a strike, according to a news release from Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), the union representing 2,100 registered nurses at the hospital.

Nurses are calling for better wages aligned with market rates, improved premiums for night shifts and hard-to-fill roles, additional sick leave, and the preservation of rest and meal breaks. WSNA has also filed several unfair labor practice charges against Seattle Children’s, accusing the hospital of threatening retaliation against union supporters, barring nurses with children from observing bargaining sessions, and unilaterally changing working conditions.

WSNA noted the voting results came as the nurses were sharing their proposal with the hospital. If the hospital doesn’t come forward with a fair contract, the bargaining team will request approval from the Labor Executive Council for WSNA to give the hospital 10 days’ notice of a strike, as required by law.

A Seattle Children’s spokesperson responded with a statement to KIRO Newsradio.

Nurses at Seattle Children’s are vital members of the team and play an important role in providing the highest level of care to patient families.

Seattle Children’s is committed to being a leader in total compensation (pay, benefits) in the Puget Sound region and must also prioritize financial stewardship in the face of potentially devastating economic headwinds, including significant federal and state cuts and taxes.

Seattle Children’s remains dedicated to working collaboratively with the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) to reach a fair agreement as soon as possible,” the spokesperson wrote.

WSNA previously called the strike “a last resort.” If there is a strike, it will be the first time in the hospital’s 118-year history.

The vote came on the heels of 32 sessions, an informational picket, a full-page advertisement in The Seattle Times, and a video on social media by Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson that urged the hospital to bargain in good faith, WSNA announced.

“We don’t want a labor dispute. We don’t want to strike. We want a fair contract that protects nurses’ legal rights, ensures patient safety, compensates nurses injured by workplace violence, and maintains the union strength that has made this institution exceptional,” the nurses wrote in a full-page ad in The Seattle Times.

Wilson expressed her support for a fair contract for the nurses by posting on social media on Dec. 12.

“I am calling on Seattle Children’s to step up and do right by nurses, their patients, and our entire city,” Wilson wrote in the social media post. “In Seattle, we stand with nurses.”

Nurses’ labor union votes to authorize strike

After meeting with members of the bargaining team on Dec. 14, the WSNA’s Labor Executive Council authorized the strike vote.

“Nurses at Seattle Children’s are vital members of the team and play an important role in providing the highest level of care to patient families,” a Seattle Children’s spokesperson told KIRO Newsradio.

The WSNA has also received public support from eight WA legislators, local labor partners, and the former medical director of Seattle Children’s Hospital, Dr. Benjamin Danielson. Additionally, more than 1,100 nurses attended the informational picket on Sept. 30.

Nurses are asking hospital leadership to restore the organization’s values of antiracism, the mutual benefit of a strong and organized nurses’ union, and uninterrupted breaks so nurses can rest, hydrate, and eat.

“Seattle Children’s remains dedicated to working collaboratively with the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) to reach a fair agreement as soon as possible,” a Seattle Children’s spokesperson told KIRO Newsradio.

Despite the hospital claiming it is dedicated to reaching a fair agreement, WSNA stated that Seattle Children’s had brought in lawyers from one of the largest antiunion law firms in the country to strip nurses of existing rights.

WSNA also revealed that progress has been “excruciatingly slow,” as the hospital typically waited until the evening to send its proposals, even though nurses had been ready to bargain since 9 a.m.

WSNA claimed that it took 28 bargaining sessions for Seattle Children’s Hospital to agree to keep the existing language that “Racism has no place at Seattle Children’s.”

Nurses have also been told that their requests for market wages, break relief, and investments for improving nurse health and patient safety are unreasonable. This has prompted the nursing staff to wear T-shirts that read, “Proudly unreasonable.”

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

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