LOCAL
Tacoma nurses ratify contracts with MultiCare
Both bargaining units secured contracts with double digit wage increases and strong staffing language
TACOMA, WA (February 25, 2026) — Hundreds of nurses at Tacoma General Hospital and Mary Bridge NICU ratified new contracts with MultiCare earlier this month. Carrying picket signs reading “Union Strong” and “Health care not Wealth care”, nurses had picketed in late January after little movement in negotiations, uniting in a show of force to urge management to get serious at the bargaining table.
The contracts ratified on February 6 include average wage increases of 15.46% over the three-year life of the collective bargaining agreement. Beyond wages, staffing ratios were a core priority for nurses during bargaining. In the words of Matthew Dustin, an ICU nurse at Tacoma General, “The worst thing for a nurse is having a patient that needs your help and you can’t do anything.”
Nurses pose for a photo during the Jan. 23 picket in Tacoma. Photo: WSNA
Tacoma General nurses have had staffing ratios enshrined in previous contracts and successfully defended them in these contract talks. When Mary Bridge NICU nurses were moved out of the Tacoma General contract by MultiCare, they lost those contract provisions. In this round of contract negotiations, Mary Bridge NICU nurses held the line for new language addressing their staffing concerns — and NICU staffing plans must be approved by NICU staffing committee representatives. Per WSNA:
“At Tacoma General, nurses fought to maintain the nurse-to-patient ratios spelled out in their contract, which they won in 2017. The new contract maintains existing ratios in Medical/Surgical, Progressive Care, Critical Care, ED, OR, PACU, NICU, Birth Center, Women and Infant, and Antepartum. They also added ratios for OB ED.
For the NICU nurses at Mary Bridge, the new language dictates that staffing will be based on patient acuity in alignment with the gold standard guidelines set by the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN), and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).”
Both contracts were ratified by an “overwhelming majority” of nurses, per the Washington State Nurses Association.