“They’re Trying to Break the Union”
Workers at Swedish–Providence Health in the state of Washington went on strike this week after nearly a year worth of negotiations over understaffing went nowhere. Management retaliated by locking out the workers.
Health care workers, who are members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, gather for a rally against their employer, Swedish-Providence, to protest against short-staffing at their hospital, on January 29, 2020 at Westlake Park in Seattle, Washington. (Twitter)
Tuesday through Thursday this week, eight thousand members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW went on strike in Seattle and at several locations throughout Washington to demand improved staffing and working conditions from their employer Swedish-Providence. Since Providence’s 2012 acquisition of Swedish, health care workers have raised concerns about the increasing deterioration of care at their hospital campuses. After nearly ten months of negotiations, workers walked off the job.
While the strike ended Friday morning, management has retaliated by locking out hospital staff as they attempted to return to their jobs. It’s unclear exactly how long the lockout will last, but hospital management has said their strikebreakers are contracted for five days. In the meantime, hospital staff are continuing to rally outside their campuses.
Seattle Democratic Socialists of America member Andrej Markovčič spoke with a few of the striking workers — vice president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Betsy Scott, nursing assistant Sheron Ray, and social worker Laura Wood — about conditions in the hospital, why they decided to strike, and how management has been affecting their ability to care for patients.
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