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PUYALLUP, Wash. - More than 700 MultiCare Good Samaritan nurses voted to strike Wednesday night.
According to the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), 750 of their nurses are facing staffing issues and are not getting full breaks. The nurses say this is creating an unsafe work environment for both nurses and the patients.
Of the 750 nurses, 95% decided to strike.
"I voted to strike because I will fight to the end to keep my patients safe, even if it means going without pay," said ICU nurse Atalia Lapkin. "We are asking MultiCare to safely staff the hospital and have been denied at every turn, despite MultiCare having enough money for a new tower, a hospital rebuild, a facility acquisition, and big bonuses at the highest level."
The WSNA says in the last two years, reported incidents where unsafe staffing posed a threat to the patient has risen 600%. They added that nurses regularly work an entire 12-hour shift without a break to use the restroom, eat or rest.
Their bargaining team has several proposals that include putting the hospital’s safe staffing plan, which was filed with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), in their contract.
According to the release, MultiCare has rejected any proposal that includes anything about safe staffing.
"I voted yes because MultiCare says that they hear the concerns of the nurses, but their actions say otherwise," said Jared Richardson, a registered nurse in Medicine-Palliative Care and co-chair of the bargaining unit. "Maybe they will hear us now."
The union is legally required to give the hospital 10 days’ notice of a strike.
A strike date has not been set, but another round of contract negotiations are expected to happen June 29.
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This is a developing story.