Through the Static

By Hannah Saunders

 CORRECTION: We removed part of the headline that said, “Don’t cross the picket line.” SCH staff and patients are encouraged to provide and receive care!

The Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) said it has reached a point in contract negotiations on behalf of Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) nursing staff where it can either accept a contract that mimics what the hospital has already put forth, or show up and demand more change. All day on September 30, nurses and allies are picketing outside the facility to show their desire for immediate change and better worker’s rights. 

Nurses employed by Seattle Children’s are fighting for increased protections as it relates to workplace violence, better wages, sick leave and breaks, and more. WSNA brought forth two package proposals that it states must be rejected or approved in its entirety. The first includes doubling sick leave accrual rates; providing additional sick leave hours to nurses whose banks were drained during COVID; and remove attendance infractions in instances, like nurses calling out sick. The other package prioritizes workplace violence protections by increasing security personnel, and providing nurses with paid administrative leave when healing from workplace violence injuries. 

“There are a few key sticking points, notably the Hospital’s continued insistence that we waive our nurses’ right to a jury trial for discrimination or harassment lawsuits, to waive our nurses’ rights to file class action lawsuits, and to force nurses into binding arbitration when their rights have been violated,” WSNA stated. “We have repeatedly expressed to them that the Union has no interest in erecting barriers to justice or to restrict our nurses’ access to their full rights under the law.” 

WSNA’s wage proposal would add $9 to base wages in the first year, bringing base wages up to $56.60 and $90.35 at the higher end. The WSNA is fighting for a fixed wage increase and a cost of living  increase in years two and three, which would allow staff to live where they work, rather than commuting from long distances. 

“SCH nurses are currently between 40% and 10% below the market average for West Coast Children’s Hospitals,” Ruth Schubert, WSNA’s director of marketing and communications, told TtS. “Seattle Children’s Hospital is the most profitable and wealthiest major health system in Washington. Its profit margins of 14% (FY24) and 13% (FY25 through Q3) provide a large cushion against any future uncertainty in the healthcare industry.” 

Schubert said SCH has attended negotiation meetings with a large list that seeks to diminish collective power, including:

• Eliminating employer-paid healthcare premiums
• Eliminating the Union’s right to strike after contract expiration
• Waiving nurses’ rights to rest and meal breaks
• Restricting Union access to the hospital and limiting the number of union representatives
• Denying WSNA-represented nurses retirement plan enhancements that non-union employees receive
• Propping up barriers to seeking judicial action for nurses who are sexually or racially harassed, denied breaks, or unjustly fired
• Excluding nurses from the contract

WSNA said people must show up in droves to emphasize the need for better working conditions. The first picket session runs from 6-9 a.m. and there will be free mini donuts, while the second session is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. where a food truck will be present.