PeaceHealth employees announce five-day strike after months of bargaining
After more than eight months of bargaining, more than 900 health care workers at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center filed a notice with the hospital on Thursday of their intention to strike for five days starting May 12.
What the employees are calling an “unfair labor practice strike” comes after a super majority of employees voted to authorize it. It will begin at 6 a.m. May 12 and end at 7 a.m. May 17.
“The last thing we want to do is go on strike,” said Courtney Sly, a trauma registrar who has worked at PeaceHealth for 18 years, in an announcement about the impending strike. “We’d rather be caring for patients. But we need a fair contract that prioritizes patient care by providing fair wages to our skilled and dedicated work force.”
“PeaceHealth is paying huge salaries to executives while staff responsible for providing essential care and services are struggling to afford housing and other basic needs,” Sly said.
PeaceHealth Northwest Network Senior Director of Marketing and Communication Amy Drury told The Herald that the hospital has secured the services of temporary replacement caregivers from a staffing agency, along with existing care partners, to maintain patient care for the duration of the strike, which “is a standard practice in the healthcare industry.”
“PeaceHealth respects the rights of our caregivers to participate in these strikes and other lawful activities. However, we are deeply disappointed the unions have chosen to strike. PeaceHealth remains committed to good faith bargaining to reach agreements that are competitive and fair,” Drury said.
The striking employees include Certified Nursing Assistants, housekeeping workers, phlebotomists, imaging technicians and other essential hospital staff, represented by their union SEIU Healthcare 1199NW.
The workers say they intend “to denounce PeaceHealth executives’ bad-faith bargaining and refusal to settle a strong contract with investments in wages and staffing that respect our experience as front-line workers.”
The workers are also asking community members to sign a petition in support of their contract demands.
“PeaceHealth’s proposals at the bargaining table do not reflect an investment in our health care workers so that they can better serve our Whatcom County community,” the petition states.
PeaceHealth employees of the same union went on strike in 2015 after employees voiced similar concerns related to wages and health care benefits.
About 100 additional PeaceHealth advanced care providers represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD) also authorized a strike for the same period, according to reporting by Cascadia Daily News. Those workers include nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurse midwives.
“We had been eager to get to resume bargaining with both SEIU 1199NW and UAPD to focus on reaching an agreement. Considering their decision to initiate a work stoppage, our full attention will turn to ensuring smooth and continuing operations in caring for our community and prioritizing excellent patient care. We will be glad to reengage and continue bargaining at the conclusion of the work stoppage,” Drury said.
This strike notice comes just two days after hundreds of PeaceHealth nurses held an informational picket outside of St. Joseph Medical Center as contract negotiations between their union, the Washington State Nurses Association, and the hospital remain stalled.
Nurses represented by WSNA are not part of this strike.
“We value our caregivers, their professionalism and commitment to our patients. A planned action will not change that,” Drury told The Herald.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM.
