MultiCare puts profits over patients, per providers

“Healthcare workers aren’t the only ones paying the price for MultiCare’s greed,” said SEIU Healthcare 1199NW President Jane Hopkins

YAKIMA, WA (June 10, 2026) — Healthcare workers took their fight for a fair contract to the Yakima City Council on Monday evening, asking council members for their support in ongoing negotiations with MultiCare Health System. For months, the organization has failed to reach a contract agreement with workers, united in SEIU Healthcare 1199NW — and MultiCare has failed to renegotiate in-network contracts with insurance companies, raising costs for community members who’ve lost in-network coverage

“The MultiCare contract negotiators act like bullies when talking with insurance companies and union members,” said Sam Jewett, a registered nurse at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital during last night’s city council meeting. “During these past several months, MultiCare has repeatedly demonstrated that they value profit more than people. They are focusing on their own bottom line while neglecting the health, lives, and well-being of the community they are purported to be a part of.”

Healthcare workers pose for a photo during an informational picket in April.

In negotiations, healthcare workers are pushing for wage parity with healthcare workers on the west side of the state, as costs skyrocket in the region and low pay makes it difficult to recruit and retain staff. MultiCare has refused, pushing workers to take to the streets for informational pickets in April and inspiring the launch of the MultiDON’TCare campaign, highlighting how MultiCare’s pursuit of maximum profits harms patients and healthcare workers alike.

MultiCare so far refuses to equally compensate healthcare workers on both sides of the state, but that hasn’t stopped them from demanding equal reimbursement rates as west-side health systems in negotiations with insurance companies.

“Healthcare workers aren’t the only ones paying the price for MultiCare’s greed,” said Jane Hopkins, registered nurse and president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, which is leading the MultiDON’TCare campaign. “All of our communities are paying the price, and we need to stand together – both healthcare workers and patients – to stop MultiCare from continuing to squeeze as much money as they can out of us.”

MultiCare, which enjoys tax exempt status as a non-profit, paid it’s CEO more than $7.7 million in compensation alone in 2024. Per SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, MultiCare spent more than $22 million on their top ten executives in 2024, almost double the compensation offered just two years prior.