Nurses are the ‘conscience of caring’

WSNA-represented nurses are standing united for a fair contract and to safeguard equity and respect at Seattle Children’s Hospital

SEATTLE, WA (October 22, 2025) — Seattle Children’s Hospital is one of the most profitable medical institutions in Washington state, with a reputation for providing competent, quality care to pediatric patients throughout the Pacific Northwest region. That public reputation is built on the backs of healthcare workers, including nurses now locked in contract negotiations. Nurses don’t just provide care for kids and support for their families; they also steward Children’s stated values of respect and equitable treatment for everyone who walks through the doors.

But that respect and commitment to equity is on tenuous footing. In contract negotiations with nurses represented by the Washington State Nurses Association, Seattle Children’s has brought in notorious union-busters Morgan Lewis, a corporate law firm currently representing SpaceX in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB has charged SpaceX owner Elon Musk with unfair labor practices). At the table, Morgan Lewis is pushing to force nurses’ employment claims to be handled through mandatory arbitration instead of the courts where nurses have access to jury trials and the right to appeal.

Equally as disturbing, the hospital and it’s union-busting representative have proposed removing reference to Children’s Health Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives from nurses’ contract, and to strike language that “racism is a public health crisis, that racism has no place within Seattle Children’s Hospital, and that racism affects the health of employees, patients, and patients’ families.”

Edna Cortez, RN addresses nurses and supporters at an informational picket at Seattle Children’s Hospital in September. Photo: WSNA

In an open letter to nurses sharing his support, Dr. Benjamin Danielson, the former medical director of Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic, decried this demand by Seattle Children’s that is at odds with the American Nurses Association’s 2025 Code of Ethics. Danielson worked for Children’s for 20 years before resigning in 2020 over the hospital’s failure to address acts of racism within the institution. In December 2024, a jury awarded him $21 million in a discrimination lawsuit.

“This may well be one of the most important times in our history for our values around DEI and anti-racism to be assertively expressed,” wrote Danielson. “Values like these are most meaningful when they are challenged. Whereas it’s easy to talk about these things when they provide nice soundbites. Their rapid retraction today by Seattle Children’s Hospital confirms to me that their efforts in this area have always been half-hearted; have always been less than sincere.”

“Your stalwart championing of DEI and antiracism has stood as healthcare’s beacon,” continued Danielson, addressing the nurses. “In this, and so many other ways, you are the conscience of caring.”

Nurses and allies picketing at Seattle Children’s Hospital on September 30.

As contract negotiations continue, support for the nurses is pouring in. Eight legislators recently sent a letter in support of the nurses to hospital management, calling on Seattle Children’s to move promptly to settle a fair contract.

“As legislators we understand that compromise is necessary in negotiations. However, we have a hard time understanding why the number one most profitable and wealthiest major health system in Washington with profit margins of 14% (FY24) and 13% (FY25 through Q3), is coming to the table with proposals that limit safety measures and worker rights.”

Last week, MLK Labor passed a resolution calling on Seattle Children’s to restore it’s stated values of equity and anti-racism, and to stop it’s attacks on workers. MLK Labor is the largest central labor council in Washington State, representing more than 220,000 workers in King County.

As contract negotiaions continue, WSNA has proposed a host of health and safety improvements, including resources to protect nurses from workplace violence in high-risk areas, increased sick leave to avoid adverse patient health outcomes, and break relief that would allow nurses work-free time to rest, eat, and hydrate. Seattle Children’s has rejected each of these proposals, so far.

The union reports that a federal mediator has been engaged, and is “hopeful that mediation will be productive in helping the parties achieve mutual agreement on the range of outstanding issues, including economics, health and safety, health equity, and anti-racism.”

Learn more about the fight for a fair contract at Seattle Children’s at wsna.org.