Six things to know:
1. The strike of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members began at 7 a.m. Jan. 28 at seven Swedish locations in the Seattle area.
2. Union leaders expect nearly 8,000 workers to participate in the walkout.
3. The union and hospital management have been negotiating since April. The union claims healthcare workers have seen hospital management “prioritize profits and executive pay over patients’ needs, causing severe care problems, understaffing and turnover.”
Swedish said it has offered a strong wage and benefits package.
4. Swedish temporarily closed emergency departments at its Ballard and Redmond campuses and the labor and delivery unit at the Ballard campus, hired tactical security guards with body cameras and rescheduled elective surgeries.
5. Temporary caregivers are replacing striking workers during the walkout. Swedish said contract provisions require a five-day commitment to temporary replacement caregivers, and striking workers will be called back to their jobs in accordance with contract provisions as work is available.
6. Swedish said patient care was uninterrupted on the first day of the strike and that a “significant number” of unionized workers decided to report to work rather than strike.
More information about negotiations is available here.
This story was updated at 2:23 Central Standard Time Jan. 28.
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