MEDIA RELEASE: Tacoma General RNs to hold strike vote December 16

No OT job action ends today. Next mediation session December 14

After making little progress in mediation Tuesday, the WSNA-represented Registered Nurses at Tacoma General Hospital are planning a strike advisory vote for December 16, two days after the next scheduled mediation session.

“MultiCare Tacoma General management still needs to step up and address the severe nurse staffing concerns at the hospital,” said Christine Himmelsbach, WSNA Assistant Executive Director for Labor Relations. “The staffing situation and working conditions at Tacoma General are not safe for nurses or their patients, and they haven’t been for a long time. The nurses who are struggling to care for patients every single day cannot settle a contract that fails to address staffing problems.”

A “No Voluntary OT, No Voluntary Extra Shifts” job action began Nov. 10 and was intended to send a concrete message to Tacoma General management that nurse staffing issues are real and must be addressed. Nurses have reported getting hundreds of texts asking them to pick up extra shifts during the one-week union job action. In some areas of the hospital nurse managers had to come in to care for patients and some elective procedures were delayed.

“For far too long, the nurses at Tacoma General have been working insane hours and have been struggling to care for our patients,” said Renata Bowlden, RN, a member of the WSNA bargaining team. “We are stretched way too thin, and we worry every day that our patients will suffer. We felt like we had to do the job action to get management’s attention, and now we feel like we have to take a strike vote.”

The WSNA bargaining team made the decision to call a strike advisory vote after a grueling day of bargaining on November 15 failed to produce an agreement.

“Tacoma General has been so disrespectful of the nurses over the course of these negotiations,” said CJ Johnston, RN, a member of the WSNA bargaining team. “They have violated our legal protections and have put proposals on the table that were nothing short of insulting.”

MultiCare Tacoma General management continues to behave unlawfully in negotiations. Management’s “summary” of negotiations, sent to nurses on November 10, was so deceptive that WSNA filed yet another Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, bringing total charges against Tacoma General to date up to 24. Region 19 of the NLRB has found merit in five of the charges so far and will prosecute the cases against Tacoma General. Among other things, the deceptive summary offers nurses money they are already owed, demands that that they accept illegal changes to working conditions, glosses over a submarket wage and benefit offer, and—most importantly—completely ignores staffing conditions that are putting patients and nurses at risk.

WSNA represents approximately 730 Registered Nurses at Tacoma General Hospital. Bargaining has been going on for nearly one year. The Tacoma General RNs are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Nursi...

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About WSNA WSNA is the leading voice and advocate for nurses in Washington state, providing union representation and trainings that allow nurses to reach their full professional potential and focus on caring for patients. WSNA represents more than 17,000 registered nurses who provide care in hospitals, clinics, schools and community and public health settings across the state. For more than 100 years, WSNA has championed issues that support nurses, advance professional standards and improve the health of individuals and families in Washington.