More than 2,400 striking healthcare workers in the Service Employees International Union at MultiCare, held a demonstration at the Navos Behavioral Health Hospital in West Seattle, Washington state demanding a fair contract with better wages and conditions last Friday.
A further 500 are on strike in neighbouring Yakima and 250 at Puyallup where there were also protests.
The SEIU released a statement ahead of the strike which stated: ‘We’re fighting for:
- Wages that keep up with the rising cost of living in our area to ensure we can recruit and retain quality caregivers;
- Safety, and safe staffing for our patients, our communities, and our co-workers;
- A contract that reflects that we are valued the same as other MultiCare area hospital.’
Over 500 SEIU healthcare workers also gathered outside MultiCare Memorial Hospital in Yakima on Friday.
This is actually the only hospital in the city of Yakima, and local nurse, Pam Rodriguez, said that staffing issues, along with a lack of resources, have led many in the area to move away to the lower valley or other areas across the state, because they cannot get healthcare treatment.
Rodriguez stated: ‘We’re fighting for a fair contract for everybody, service and registered nurses, and we want to have a good health care and livable wages.
‘In this economy right now, they’re not meeting our needs and we’re just fighting for what is fair.
‘We need safe staffing and equitable wages that recruit and retain to ensure that we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients.
‘Unfortunately, we’ve seen barely any movement from management at the bargaining table, which is why we are taking our message to the community.
‘We’re stronger together and it’s the right thing to do, to be there for each other in our union.’
Trevor Baumgardner, a licensed practical nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup said that their three-year contract expired on September 30, 2025.
He said workers are fighting for higher wages, better health care and increased staffing.
Baumgardner added: ‘We do what we do because patients need our help.
‘We’re here and we’re willing to provide that help (but) we need to make sure we’re not being assaulted on the job, we need to make sure we’re being paid a fair wage, we want to make sure that everything in the hospital works so we can provide that care.
‘We just can’t do it anymore.
‘We need fair wages to be able to recruit, fair wages to be able to retain, and we need to be able to grow as employees, as staff members, as care providers.
‘If they are willing to grow, they need us to grow with them.’
Meanwhile, Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Sam Levine joined Democrat New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to announce settlements that will provide more than 830 workers with more than $1.8 million (£1.38 million) to resolve violations of the City’s Fair Workweek Law.
In addition to restitution, Dunkin’ and Taco Bell franchisee Salz Management LLC and premium fashion retailer Theory will pay more than $176,000 (£133,00)0 in civil penalties and costs.
Workers will receive restitution via mailed cheque or direct deposit in the coming months.
DCWP also announced the filing of an enforcement petition against QSR Management LLC, a Dunkin’ franchisee that operates locations in Staten Island, and managing corporate officer Ronny Nader for violating the rights of approximately 1,000 workers under the Fair Workweek Law and Protected Time Off Law.
The Kansas Organisation of State Employees (KOSE) said last Friday that state workers who keep Kansas running should be treated with dignity and respect.
The statement added: ‘That’s why the legislature’s decision to approve just a one per cent across-the-board pay raise for state workers is so out of touch.
‘The rise doesn’t even keep up with the 2.4 per cent inflation rate or the rising costs of housing, food, child care and health care.
‘KOSE members are the workers who clear snow, respond to emergencies, protect children, support veterans and provide the public services Kansas families depend on every day.
‘The same lawmakers who say Kansas cannot afford fair wages somehow managed to prioritise themselves.’
Members of KOSE, who are affiliated with AFT and AFSCME unions, pointed out that legislators gave themselves a nearly 93 per cent pay increase two years ago and budgeted another four per cent raise for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
KOSE President Sarah LaFrenz said: ‘This is about priorities.
‘The people making decisions about our pay are taking care of themselves first while asking state workers to fall further behind. That is not equitable, and it is not right.
‘State workers deserve to be more than an afterthought.’
Democrat state governor Laura Kelly said that the Kansas state congress gave their own staff a 10 per cent raise while leaving state workers with ‘table scraps’.
Kelly said: ‘I am not responsible for the pay of state congress members.
‘I reject the pay offer they have made to state workers.
‘Hardworking people are the backbone of Kansas. They deserve the freedom to unite, advocate for each other, and seek fair compensation.
‘State workers in Kansas are right to ask for wages that reflect real-life costs, and working people should come together to demand a budget that values those who serve Kansas every day.’
Elsewhere, a strike by United Auto Workers members at the Freudenberg-NOK plant in Findlay, Ohio has been ongoing for over two weeks, with union leaders accusing the company of attempting to replace striking workers rather than negotiate a new contract.
Workers on the picket line say they are fighting for ‘a fair agreement’, but tensions escalated after reports that the company is bringing in non-union workers from out of state and housing them in local hotels.
A UAW spokesperson said that that company leadership is prioritising replacement labour over bargaining.
The union pointed out that the company is ‘willing to spend money rather than negotiate.’
Union members say the development has only strengthened their resolve.
Josh McDonald, a leader of the UAW Local 1327, said: ‘Several people have come from out of state, whether on their own or from other Freudenberg sites.
‘It’s disheartening because we’re out here and we want to be back inside.
‘The company would rather spend all this money and all these resources to bring people in that haven’t shown the loyalty that we have. Our long-term members are on the line, and they’re here because we need to be treated fairly.’
Despite the strain, union members say they are prepared to continue the strike indefinitely.
Workers are receiving $500 per week (£378) in strike pay, and the international union is covering health benefits, according to McDonald.
He also warned that broader impacts could emerge soon.
The Findlay facility produces union-made PTFE seals used across the United States auto industry, and McDonald said existing supplies could run low as early as next week.
