Health care employees in service and tech jobs at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center finally have a new contract after 10 months of negotiations. The new contract includes wage increases, improved benefits, elevated union rights and workplace protections.
Members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare 1199NW voted on Aug. 15 for the new contract that includes total raises between 14% and 34% over four years. Employees on the lower end of the wage scale will earn at least $24 an hour under the ratified contract.
Under the contract, a surgical technologist earning $36.67 an hour today will make $49.44 an hour by September 2028. The agreement also includes protections for uninterrupted breaks, workplace violence prevention measures, emergency protocols and anti-discrimination language. New premiums and differentials, including higher pay for evening, night, standby, lead and float shifts, were secured in the contract along with the elimination of “ghost steps” from salary ranges, a period of time in which an experienced member may not advance according to the pay scale.
Layoff recall rights, bulletin board access and expanded communication protections are also included in the new contract.
“This contract is a victory for every patient and community member in Whatcom who depends on them,” Jane Hopkins, a registered nurse and president of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, said in a statement.
With about 55% of PeaceHealth unionized, SEIU’s new contract impacts more than 900 members, including medical technicians and lab assistants.
SEIU members demanding fair contracts voted to authorize a strike in April. In May, a five-day strike was launched alongside another staff union that was in negotiations with PeaceHealth. Ahead of the strike, SEIU initiated a hardship fund to support unpaid workers on the picket line. Hundreds of community members signed petitions in support of the workers and donated to the fund, an SEIU spokesperson said in a statement.
Services Employees International Union members protest across the street from the main entrance to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center on May 12. (Santiago Ochoa/Cascadia Daily News)
“We weren’t given this contract by PeaceHealth executives, we fought hard and sacrificed our time, efforts, and in many cases our time off, to make this possible,” Ramon Castellanos, a respiratory therapist and SEIU negotiator, said in a statement.
St. Joseph’s nurses’ union ratified its three-year contract with PeaceHealth in May. Days later, the network of hospitals announced a systemwide staff reduction of 1%, a cut that was furthered in September with a shakeup of its medical group impacting 18 roles, including executives, medical officers and vice presidents.
“St. Joseph is the only hospital in Whatcom County. Our community heavily relies on us to be here and ready to care for them, and we are part of that community, too,” Robin Growden, a lab assistant and member of the bargaining team, said in a statement. “This is why livable wages matter. They matter for us and our families, but also for the patients who need experienced staff to stay in this community.”
A 2022 contract between SEIU and PeaceHealth earned members a 7.5% raise. However, two years later, SEIU members said PeaceHealth was failing to match wages to the rising cost of living, so they donned grinch costumes to highlight their frustrations.
Owen Racer is a Report for America corps member who covers health care and public health in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Reach him at owenracer@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 101. Learn more and donate at cascadiadaily.com/rfa.