WSNA pickets St. Joe’s

Hundreds of nurses held an informational picket at Bellingham’s largest hospital

BELLINGHAM, WA (April 30, 2025) — Calling out worsening health benefits, subpar wages, and a lack of respect, nurses took to the streets yesterday in Bellingham with an informational picket outside PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. The contract covering these 1,100 healthcare workers expired March 31.

It’s darkly ironic that nurses don’t have quality healthcare benefits. But that’s the situation at PeaceHealth St. Joseph, where nurses have seen a steady deterioration forcing many to pay thousands more out-of-pocket and travel hundreds of miles for care, reports the Washington State Nurses Association.

Photo: Washington State Nurses Association

In Bellingham, St. Joe’s is not only the biggest hospital, but the biggest employer as well. WSNA nurses say PeaceHealth is using its market power to pressure nurses to accept these substandard health benefits, and wages that don’t cut it.

“I have worked for them for 20 years. It’s frustrating they are a monopoly. Insurance benefits have gotten worse and worse,” said Amber Pouley, an ER nurse. “We are healthcare workers. We should have good health insurance.”

WSNA reports that under the contract that expired last month, any substantial changes to insurance benefits must be bargained with the union. PeaceHealth argues that the changes it made for the 2025 plan year were not substantial. But that doesn’t track with nurses’ experiences.

Photo: Harold Phillips, SAG-AFTRA

One nurse said their family pays 97% more towards health insurance premiums now versus December 2023, per the union.  Another nurse said their child’s preventative healthcare increased from $480 per year to $1,560 per year. And another said their 90-day supply of a medication for $45 in 2024 went up to $294 in 2025.

In addition to increased costs, nurses have lost access to local physicians due to the PeaceHealth plan ceasing coverage through the Family Care Network and instead channeling nurses to PeaceHealth-employed physicians, of which there are far fewer locally.

“They took away one of the most important relationships we have in healthcare, our primary care providers, by opting into a plan with a narrow network and fewer choices,” said Britt Hanowell, a nurse in care management.

Photo: Washington State Nurses Association

To add insult to injury, management’s wage proposals won’t even cover the increased cost of healthcare, especially considering the rising cost of living in Bellingham. So far, the employer’s proposed wage rates have failed to keep pace with those at the closest comparably sized acute care hospitals along the I-5 corridor, per WSNA.

Nurses have been in more than 11 bargaining sessions with management, and earlier in the month met for mediation. But management’s refusal to acknowledge the reality of their subpar health benefits makes meaningful negotiation difficult.

In the words of Robin Cully, WSNA co-chair at PeaceHealth St. Joseph: “It’s hard to foster a relationship with a partner the bargaining unit doesn’t trust.”