MultiCare Yakima picket, rally on Nov. 15

More than 1,200 healthcare workers will come together to highlight their need for a strong union contract that recruits and retains

The following is from SEIU Healthcare 1199NW:

YAKIMA — More than 1,200 healthcare workers united in SEIU Healthcare 1199NW at MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital in Yakima — including nurses, nursing assistants, housekeepers, food service workers and other healthcare workers — will gather Wednesday, Nov. 15 to hold an informational picket to alert the Yakima Valley community about their fight for a strong union contract that guarantees the staffing and resources needed to deliver the quality care patients deserve.

Picket prep!

The workers at MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital began bargaining with MultiCare administration in December 2022. The workers’ core bargaining priorities address staffing, recruitment and retention by protecting affordable healthcare options, offering wages that recruit and retain staff, and protecting hard-won standards on overtime, paid time off, and sick leave.

TAKE A STAND — All union members and community supporters are invited to join MultiCare Yakima healthcare workers at Wednesday’s informational picket from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the rally at 1:30 p.m., in front of MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital, 2811 Tieton Dr. in Yakima.

MultiCare Yakima’s healthcare workers held a candlelight vigil on Oct. 10 to shine a light on the need for a strong union contract in order to provide the Yakima Valley community the quality care they deserve.

While MultiCare claims that “your communities are our communities,” the company has refused contract proposals that would increase safety for patients and caregivers and provide the Yakima community with the care they truly need.

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW is a union of nurses and healthcare workers with over 31,000 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.