Nurses and caregivers announced on Thursday that they are moving closer to an “imminent strike,” claiming that patient care and severe understaffing have worsened and executive pay has ballooned since Swedish was taken over seven years ago by Providence, Washington’s largest health care corporation.
Hospital workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and have been without a contract since July 30 of this year. If a strike occurs, more than 13,000 workers could walk off the job at various Swedish-Providence locations including Edmonds. All indications are that the sides are no closer to agreement since we last reported on this in August.
Whitney Powers works in the emergency room at Swedish-Edmonds, and is frustrated at what she sees as an erosion in both working conditions and patient care due to management cost-cutting.
“Being an emergency room nurse is very stressful, but I do this work because I love my patients and feel like I make a real difference in their lives,” she said. “I’ve been alarmed to see a steep decline in staffing levels throughout our hospital and nurses are overextended. The safe staffing standard in emergency rooms is one nurse for every four patients, but we are often required to care for five or six patients at a time, many of whom can be in severe distress. It’s frustrating that Swedish-Providence has the funds to improve patient safety and staffing, but instead they’re being misappropriated to huge executive pay packages.”
The next bargaining session is set for Dec. 30.
The union also alleges that Providence management has broken federal labor law multiple times with unfair labor practices including retaliating against and terminating employees for union activity; unlawfully surveilling employees; intimidating workers to stop them from speaking out; refusing to provide information necessary to bargain a fair contract; and refusing to bargain in good faith. The union has threatened that if “significant progress” is not made in the upcoming Dec. 30 bargaining session, caregivers will move to set an exact date to strike.
For its part, Swedish-Providence maintains that it has put a strong set of proposals on the table, including a new round of improvements on wages and benefits.
“We are disappointed that SEIU issued a press release announcing an ‘imminent strike’ in an effort to exert pressure on Swedish during the bargaining process,” Swedish-Providence said in a statement issued Friday. “Given that we have another bargaining session scheduled for Monday, Dec. 30, we feel the union’s message is counterproductive. A strike would not only represent a step backwards in our negotiations but could prove disruptive to patients who rely on Swedish for their care. We are serious about reaching an agreement through bargaining and hope SEIU shares our commitment to find solutions that work. We will continue to bargain in good faith, and we remain willing to utilize the assistance of federal mediators to move the negotiations forward.”
— Story and photos by Larry Vogel
Strikes aren’t the vehicle to address safety concerns.
Providence is an incredibly powerful and greedy healthcare organization that must be reigned in. Don’t be fooled, Providence provides minimal care to its patients but charges maximum prices.. And how they treat their workers is deplorable and repugnant Our community must rally around the union and support the strike. Let’s put an end to Providence greed once and for all!
I think this about greed too, and not about safety. Envy is worse than greed. Greed will make you open your own hospital, whereas envy will make you picket out side of one.
My wife’s considerable experience with Swedish/Providence has been precisely what you have described. It’s only a miracle, brought about by a massive amount of prayers, that allowed her to get out of there alive.
I would be very interested in seeing these Providence executive pay packages. Are they public knowledge? The nurses I have encountered at Swedish Edmonds hospital have been exemplary. Are the executives exemplary as well?
I recently had a great personal experience with Swedish Edmond’s emergency room services. Prompt care, really kind and concerned personnel and a seamless transfer of my records with them to my not for profit HMO care providers. South County Fire was outstanding too. I was totally impressed by the line staff working at Swedish. If they are working under the conditions described by the strikers, I’m doubly impressed with how I was cared for by Swedish in the Emergency setting.
Why would a strike not be an appropriate place to express safety concerns? That sounds to me like a typical anti-union individual’s point of view. I would say it is just one of several places one might want to question a hospital about it’s safety concerns and record. Hospitals (profit or non-profit) have boards of directors and CEOs who can be contacted, petitioned, and even sued over safety concerns. A union worker has as much right to complain about safety in their work environment as anyone, I would think, in whatever context they might choose. I’m glad they are speaking up. This helps me confirm my notion that when it comes to health care, I prefer the non-profit approach. It pleases me that I have that choice.
I recently had a health issue that required me to use Edmonds Swedish ER and a multiple night stay at the hospital. I could not be more impressed by the care I received from the nursing staff throughout the process. Their dedication to their professional was extremely admirable. Our community needs these types of professionals serving us and support their right to negotiate fair wages and benefits – executives need to be reasonable (although that is often a tall order). I hope this can be resolved without a strike but understand sometimes labor have no other leverage.