BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Hundreds of workers walked off the job this morning at PeaceHealth Hospital in Bellingham, which could impact everything from surgeries to basic cleanups.
About 900 employees, including doctors, medical techs, and housekeeping staff, all participated in the walkout.
The strike does not include nurses.
The hospital’s Union of American Physicians and Dentists and SEIU1199NW union say they’re pushing for a new contract that includes higher pay and better benefits.
Contract negotiations have been in the works for eight months, according to the union.
They plan to be on picket lines all week.
Jose Reta, an MRI technician at PeaceHealth St Joe’s, explained why workers are striking: “Bellingham PeaceHealth is the most profitable of all their locations in Washington state, but they don’t seem to care that members of their own staff are living in the cars, or that we stock a food pantry for our colleagues who can meet their own basic needs because the pay is so low. I’ll be joining my coworkers on strike because PeaceHealth has shown us they just don’t care.”
“We respect the rights of PeaceHealth’s SEIU and UAPD-represented caregivers to participate in this and other lawful activities. However, we are deeply disappointed that the unions have chosen to strike. We have proposed a competitive compensation package that ensures our pay rates are at or above market rates. Under our current wage proposal to SEIU, caregivers would receive wage increases ranging from 15%-36% over the four-year contract. Similarly, our current proposal to our advanced practice clinicians would provide market-based increases of up to 10% in the first year and maintain top-of-market positioning for that group of providers,” PeaceHealth said in a statement on its website.
The hospital said it has plans in place to “ensure the continued delivery of safe patient care.”
PeaceHealth is a nonprofit healthcare system based in Vancouver, WA with nine hospitals and medical clinics in Washington, including PeaceHealth St. Joseph, a Level II Trauma Center serving all the northern counties in the state.
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