Members of UFCW 3000 are set to begin a dayslong strike Nov. 14 at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett (Wash.).
The union represents about 1,300 nurses at the hospital, according to a UFCW 3000 news release. Providence Regional Medical Center Everett is part of Renton, Wash.-based Providence, which has 117,000 employees total across seven states.
Union members voted to authorize a strike on Oct. 19. The union and hospital began negotiating a new labor contract in April, according to the union release. The hospital, in an online statement, said that during negotiations, it offered a deal that would have increased nurse wages by 21.5% over three years, with an average 13% increase upon ratification.
The union contends that during bargaining, Providence management has failed to adequately address staffing issues and that staff continue to leave for better staffing levels and higher pay at other area hospitals. "Hundreds of nurses have left in a mass exodus in recent years; those remaining are demanding accountability from the hospital's management to create a safer environment for nurses and patients," the union release reads.
"Now we turn our full focus toward preparing our hospital campuses for a strike," the hospital said in its statement. "We look forward to returning to the bargaining table to resume negotiations after the strike."
The strike is slated to begin at 6 a.m. Nov. 14 and end at 6 a.m. Nov. 19.