A strike date is set to be named Monday/
In a message to MyEverettNews.com a union representative wrote that over 1,300 nurses at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett are set to walk out on an unfair labor practice strike at the hospital, where chronic understaffing continues to threaten the safety and wellbeing of patients and their nurses.
Nurses at the hospital voted on October 19 to authorize a strike; the strike vote carried with 97% approval.
Here’s a bit more background provided by the Union (UFCW 3000) who tell us they are the largest union in Washington State with more than 50,000 members in Washington, northeastern Oregon, and northern Idaho. Its members are essential workers in grocery store, health care, retail, pharmacy, cannabis, food processing and other industry jobs. UFCW 3000’s mission is building a powerful union that fights for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities. Learn more at UFCW3000.org
The Union says after many months of bargaining over a new union contract, Providence management has refused to address the staffing issues plaguing the busy hospital. Hundreds of nurses have left in a mass exodus in recent years; those remaining are demanding accountability from the hospital’s management to create a safer environment for nurses and patients. Nurses’ primary demand is that hospital management engage in good-faith bargaining and come to mutual agreement on a contract that includes provisions to ensure safer staffing levels as well as transparency and accountability measures meant to renew community trust in the local hospital.
While striking is a last resort, dedicated nurses have been left with no other choice to address the unfair labor practices during bargaining and ongoing safety issues. Providence Everett nurses have been raising understaffing and safety concerns for years and were instrumental in advocating for new statewide hospital staffing standards that were passed by the legislature in 2023.
November 5, 2023
Everett