SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members have a history of winning national breakthroughs for healthcare workers, including low census funds and a safe lifting law. We made even more gains in our contracts across Washington in 2008 and 2009 winning a training fund at five hospitals, strengthening protections against subcontracting, and continuing to win competitive wages and better health benefits.
But we face new challenges: our state has had to cut its budget for healthcare services, and employers have used the economic downturn to ask members to re-open contracts to bargain concessions on wages and benefits.
We believe that we have a choice to make between being a strong union that continues to be the most effective voice in the state for healthcare workers, or putting our hard won standards at risk, just when we need our union more than ever.