LOCAL
Fighting for safety at St. Joseph Medical Center
Nurses picket St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, calling on management to address short staffing and unsafe working conditions
TACOMA, WA (November 1, 2024) — Nurses represented by the Washington State Nurses Association kicked off an informational picket this morning outside St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. Currently bargaining for a fair contract, the nurses are calling attention to management’s lack of response to key demands around safe staffing and workplace violence.
The 1,200 registered nurses at St. Joseph have held 10 bargaining sessions since Aug. 21.
It is broadly recognized that the pandemic pushed healthcare workers to their limit. To ensure quality care and to protect from burnout, nurses are asking for evidence-based ratios for the number of nurses to patients. Per the union, management has increased the number of trauma cases seen at the hospital by 100 percent yet is proposing cutting certified nursing assistants (CNAs) that make nurses’ work possible.
WSNA reports that on the cardiovascular intensive care unit alone, four nurses quit in the last week.
“We are critically short every day,” said Yunna Flenord, a nurse on the cardiovascular intensive care unit. “At what point do we get a reprieve?”
Moreover, the hospital no longer has travel nurses but did not hire nurses into these positions. Per the union, nurses are told “to make it work.” Already a strain, the hospital’s proposal to cut CNAs makes the job untenable. CNAs are the hands of nurses — giving water to patients, responding to their concerns, monitoring their vitals. Together, nurses and CNAs are providers of essential care to patients at the hospital.
But for the workers, this is a crisis.
“We are not able to give patients the care they deserve,” said Kathleen Jabasa, a nurse in the operating room. “We are not being nurses but robots.”
Coupled with dangerously short staffing, nurses at St. Joseph face the threat of workplace violence regularly. One emergency room nurse reported multiple instances of patients with dangerous weapons in the ER, including a loaded firearm.
“With regularity, weapons are being taken off patients in ER,” said nurse Matthew McGuire. “Nursing is now one of the most dangerous professions.”
It’s been less than a year since the last time a gun was fired in the hospital. In recent incidents, McGuire reports he has had to disarm patients.
Outside the facility, safety issues persist. Per the union, nurses regularly have their cars broken into and some have even found someone in their car. Meanwhile, physicians and managers park in a secure parking lot.
The WSNA picket at St. Joe’s Tacoma is underway! Join us on the corner of S 19th Ave and S J St. The morning portion runs until 9.a.m. Can’t make it early? Join us from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Rally at 11:30 a.m. Support nurses at the hospital as they fight for safe staffing. pic.twitter.com/Gfj1aWP8QY
— WSNA (@myWSNA) November 1, 2024
TAKE A STAND: The informational picket kicked off from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. this morning, and will continue from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a rally at 11:30 a.m. featuring nurses, local and state elected officials, and labor leaders. Join the nurses on the corner of S 19th Ave and S J St as the fight for a fair contract.
Learn more about the Washington State Nurses Association at wsna.org
CHECK OUT THE UNION DIFFERENCE in Washington: higher wages, affordable health and dental care, job and retirement security.
FIND OUT HOW TO JOIN TOGETHER with your co-workers to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and a voice at work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!
