Healthcare workers deliver strike notice at St. Joe’s

Citing understaffing, low wages, and a lack of respect, healthcare workers and clinicians will strike May 12

BELLINGHAM, WA (May 2, 2025) — On May 1st, International Workers Day, nearly 1,000 healthcare workers at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham filed notice with their employer of their intention to go on an unfair labor practice strike. The bulk of the workers planning to strike are healthcare workers — CNAs, housekeeping workers, phlebotomists, imaging technicians and other essential hospital staff — represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. They’ll be joined by more than 100 physicians and advanced practice clinicians represented by Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD).

Like the nurses who picketed this week, healthcare workers and clinicians represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and UAPD are sounding the alarm on choices by management that negatively impact patient care. PeaceHealth, a Vancouver based health system is classified as a non-profit. Nonetheless, executives receive massive salaries while the frontline workers providing care are offered wages that neither keep up with the cost of living nor maintain parity with wages paid to comparable healthcare workers along the I-5 corridor.

While executives cash fat checks, low pay and the pressure to see more and more patients are driving burnout and making retaining and recruiting healthcare workers increasingly difficult. UAPD reports that despite chronic understaffing, PeaceHealth leadership is pressuring clinicians to see more patients in less time. Patients are also experiencing longer wait times for appointments and follow-up care, with some waiting over six months to schedule time with a clinician.

“The last thing we want to do is go on strike, we’d rather be caring for patients, said Courtney Sly, a trauma registrar who has worked at PeaceHealth for eighteen years, in a statement announcing the strike notice. “But we need a fair contract that prioritizes patient care by providing fair wages to our skilled and dedicated work force. PeaceHealth is paying huge salaries to executives, while staff responsible for providing essential care and services are struggling to afford housing and other basic needs.”

Workers were pushed to strike after months of bargaining with no resolution — and in the case of one UAPD bargaining unit, after management has refused to recognize their union. Despite being certification under both PeaceHealth and Sound Physicians by the National Labor Relations Board in June 2024, PeaceHealth has refused to recognize or bargain with the group. In a release, UAPD physicians and clinicians made clear they’re striking for recognition, for fair contracts, and to stand in solidarity with their SEIU Healthcare 1199NW siblings.

The workers intend to begin their strike on May 12 at 6:00 a.m. and a strike rally is being planned for May 16. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW is asking community supporters to sign a petition calling on PeaceHealth to give workers the wages and respect they deserve.

Picket details provided by UAPD can be found at Take a STAND.