More than 1,100 service and technical workers represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW began a seven-day strike Aug. 20 at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Wash., and the Kadlec freestanding emergency room in Kennewick, Wash.
SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and Kadlec, which is part of the Providence system based in Renton, Wash., began negotiating a new labor contract in January. Here are four things to know about the strike and negotiations:
1. Union members are striking "to denounce corporate parent Providence's bad-faith bargaining and to call on executives to settle a strong contract that recruits and retains front-line workers," according to SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.
2. In a statement shared with Becker's on Aug. 12, Kadlec said that during negotiations, the hospital bargaining team "passed multiple strong proposals to the union that would provide immediate and significant wage increases averaging 15.98% for our caregivers, with additional increases over the next three years."
3. The strike is scheduled for Aug. 20 through midnight Aug. 26, according to the union. A return to work is scheduled for Aug. 27.
4. Hospital services will continue during the strike. Kadlec has also contracted a staffing agency to temporarily replace striking workers.