Yakima Valley Memorial workers: Invest in care, retain us all

All are invited to rally with YVM healthcare workers Friday at noon

YAKIMA (March 31, 2022) — Dozens of healthcare workers at Yakima Valley Memorial, united in SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, will hold a public demonstration Friday, April 1 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in front of the hospital at 2811 Tieton Dr. to urge hospital administration to take immediate steps to address the root causes of the ongoing short-staffing crisis. All union members and community supporters in the area are invited to show their solidarity and participate.

Yakima Memorial administration has so far failed to address healthcare workers’ recruitment and retention problems in a meaningful, sustained way. Meanwhile, many healthcare workers are on the brink of leaving for better working conditions as they witness their coworkers leave due to burnout or to take better-paying jobs elsewhere. They call on Memorial administration to implement wage adjustments and retention bonuses that honor the hard work of caregivers in every job class, not just a select few.

The workers are currently bargaining wage increases and retention bonuses with hospital administration, but progress in negotiations is stalled due to the hospital’s refusal to negotiate over wages for all job classes now, instead choosing to wait until later in the year. The latest proposal by hospital administration would only reward nurses while leaving non-nursing job classes behind. The workers are determined to win wage increases and bonuses for all workers, including those in service and tech job classes.

The public demonstration aims to spotlight these issues and to invite the local community to stand with workers and join the call for Memorial administration to put safe care over profits. An investment in Memorial’s workforce would allow caregivers to continue to provide the best care for their patients in the Yakima Valley.

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.