Workers at Tukwila, Wash.-based Cascade Behavioral Health Hospital, who have been on strike for about three weeks, are calling for increased staffing and safety at the psychiatric facility, The Seattle Times reported Aug. 20.
A group of workers at the Seattle-area hospital began their strike Aug. 2. They allege increasingly dangerous workplace conditions and want the hospital to boost staffing and hire security guards, according to the Times. They contend patient and staff safety are being jeopardized and that workers have been hurt during interactions with patients.
"We're fed up," Alazar Yirgu, who's worked at Cascade for more than five years, told the newspaper. "And we want everybody to hear our story."
Diana Chinea, a spokesperson for Cascade, referred Becker's to an open letter to the community from Cascade CEO Christopher West.
In the Aug. 13 letter, Mr. West said the union representing workers has been "trying to apply unfair — and in some cases we believe unlawful — external pressures to this process, including picketing, work stoppages, smear campaigns and false accusations."
The letter also stated that the hospital "remain[s] fully engaged and committed to the negotiation process" and that the union has "greatly exaggerated stories of unfavorable work conditions to bolster its contract bargaining objectives."
The hospital is currently in contract negotiations with SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, the representative of 220 registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants, mental health technicians and service workers at the hospital.
Union spokesperson Amy Clark told the Times SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, which was not part of the initial planning of the ongoing strike, has since helped organize efforts and assist picketing Cascade workers who have been fired. She said the union has also brought allegations to the National Labor Relations Board accusing hospital management of retaliation.
According to copies of termination letters shared with the newspaper, workers were fired for not showing up for a scheduled shift and "participating in unauthorized and unprotected employee activities."
As the strike continues, Ms. Chinea told the Times Cascade has restricted new patient admissions and is "aggressively recruiting and hiring" workers "to make-up for the nurses and technicians who have decided not to work."
Read the full Times report here.