LOCAL
Safe staffing is a no-brainer: Join Cascade picket on Thursday
TUKWILA — This Halloween, Cascade Behavioral Health workers don’t want tricks — just to be treated fairly.
Frontline workers at Cascade have been asking management for one thing since Aug. 1: Safe staffing levels at their facility. They’re hoping this no-brainer decision will win over CEO Chris West and executives at parent company Acadia Healthcare, who have failed to hire dedicated security staff and address safety concerns.
King County Councilmember Joe McDermott and other supporters will join workers on the picket line today (Thursday, Oct. 28) at 12:30 p.m. to call out Acadia and Cascade CEO Chris West to take action immediately to fix the ongoing safety problems.
TAKE A STAND — All union members and supporters of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members at Cascade Behavioral Health are invited to join the picket line today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 12844 Military Rd S. in Tukwila. Feel free to dress as a zombie or in other Halloween costumes.
Acadia Healthcare has failed to meet Washington state’s requirements to mitigate workers’ exposure to workplace violence, fostering an unsafe work environment at Cascade Behavioral Health that has put both patients and staff in danger. Lacking dedicated and trained security personnel, the facility is plagued by chronic understaffing, unchecked workplace violence, and deficient COVID-19 protections. These dangerous conditions have resulted in a series of recent incidents that led to multiple staff injuries due to workplace violence.
Since the healthcare workers began their safety strike in August, Cascade’s daily census has fallen by half as fewer patients have been admitted to the incident-plagued facility.
SEIU Healthcare 1199NW is a union of nurses and healthcare workers with over 32,000 caregivers throughout hospitals, clinics, mental health, skilled home health and hospice programs in Washington state and Montana. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW’s mission is to advocate for quality care and good jobs for all.
SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and Cascade Behavioral Health are engaged in a labor dispute. Learn more at CascadeSafetyMatters.org.
PREVIOUSLY at The Stand:
Labor Secretary meets with Cascade workers on safety (Aug. 16)
Sign the petition: Cascade safety matters! (Aug. 13)
CHECK OUT THE UNION DIFFERENCE in Washington: higher wages, affordable health and dental care, job and retirement security.
FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN TOGETHER with your co-workers to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and a voice at work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!
