Healthcare workers to picket in Auburn, Seattle

Healthcare workers will hold informational pickets to demand strong contracts and corporate accountability

SEATTLE, WA – More than 1,300 healthcare workers united in SEIU Healthcare 1199NW at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle and MultiCare Auburn Medical Center in Auburn will be taking public action next week by holding informational pickets to demand strong contracts that prioritize patient care, safe staffing, and respect for healthcare workers.

“Frontline healthcare workers are the heartbeat of each of these hospitals,” said Jane Hopkins, RN, president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. “It’s unacceptable for MultiCare and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, profitable healthcare systems, to undervalue the staff who provide life-saving care. King County patients deserve better.”

Monday, January 20
Informational Picket at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, Auburn 

More than 300 service workers and licensed practical nurses at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center will hold an informational picket to demand a contract that ensures fair pay, safe staffing, and dignity for all workers. The picket falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring Dr. King’s legacy of fighting for workers’ rights and social justice.

Date: January 20, 2025

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Location: MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, Division St., Auburn

“Dr. King stood for justice in every form,” said Joel Le Bon, a nutrition assistant at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center and member of the bargaining team. “We’re here to demand respect, fairness, and safe staffing for the patients and workers in our community. MultiCare must see the urgency — we need a strong contract now and a real investment in frontline healthcare workers.”

According to recent, publicly available audited financials, MultiCare continues to prioritize expansion through massive acquisitions across Washington and into Idaho, generating $411 million in profits, and hoarding $1.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

Tuesday, January 21
Informational Picket at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle 

The next day, 1,100 professional, service, and technical workers at Virginia Mason Medical Center will hold an informational picket to call on executives at corporate parent CommonSpirit to invest in frontline staff and patient care instead of corporate sponsorships and outsourced services, and to settle a strong first contract. It has been one year since the workers voted to form their union at VM.

Date: January 21, 2025

Time: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Location: Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seneca St. & Terry Ave., Seattle

“As a patient care tech, I know how critical our work is to patient safety and recovery,” said Taran Burnite, a member of the union bargaining team at Virginia Mason Medical Center. “We’re fighting for a contract that values the care we give every day and puts patient needs over profits.”

According to publicly available audited financials from the last year, CommonSpirit Health, Virginia Mason Medical Center’s parent company, continues to prioritize massive acquisitions and expansions across the continental United States, generating $797 million in profits, and hoarding $1.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

Learn more about SEIU Healthcare 1199NW at seiu1199nw.org