Yakima Herald-Republic, August 30, 2011 Yakima - Nurses at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and their supporters rallied Tuesday evening during an informational picket at the hospital that drew about 50 people to Tieton Drive. Represented by SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, the nurses carried signs and chanted, protesting what they say are unfair labor practices by the hospital and the implementation of pension and wage freezes despite a lack of bargaining. The nurses chanted "In It to Win It" and "Fair Contract" and their signs read "Be Fair to Those Who Care" and "We Care for Our Community." They picketed before and after shifts, and during breaks.

Memorial Hospital nurses picket over stalled contract negotiations. David Mance, KAPP, August 30, 2011 Nurses and administrators at Memorial Hospital in Yakima are blaming each other for stalled contract negotiations. 

Nurses picketed in front of the hospital to complain about the hospital not meeting their demands for pay raises over three years, and a better pension plan.

Bob Herman, Becker’s Hospital Review, August 30, 2011 Nurses at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital plan to picket outside the hospital as negotiations for a new contract have stalled between the administration and the nurses' union, according to a KNDO report. The nurses' union is asking for a 2 percent pay raise for every year of the new contract and to continue their defined benefits plan rather than converting to a 401(k), the report said. It is also asking for mandatory union membership for nurses. However, the Yakima Valley Memorial administration has walked away from the bargaining table ... Nurses

Karma Dickerson, KNDO, August 29, 2011 Yakima - You've seen the purple signs all over town. It seems there's one on every block, Memorial nurses aren't happy about their new contract. "There are three sticking points, one is wages, one is pension, and one is union security," says Trish Bowman. Bowman has been a registered nurse at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital for 28 years. She and the nursing union say it was insulting when the hospital walked away from contract negotiations with no warning. "They just did what they wanted basically, and we would like a say in that," alleges Bowman. The nurses union wants a 2% pay raise for every year of the contract ... Memorial

Erin Snelgrove, Yakima Herald-Republic, August 23, 2011 Yakima - The ongoing contract dispute between Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and its nurses has hit new snags with administrators declaring a legal impasse and nurses filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. "Our goal is to help them understand how serious this is for us," said Chris Barton of Renton, a registered nurse and secretary-treasurer with Service Employees International Union 1199 NW. "We want to bargain in good faith and reach an agreement. I'm pretty shocked at the lengths they've gone to now say, 'We're done.' " ... Contract

KONP, August 3, 2011 Port Orchard - A Kitsap County Superior Court judge has ordered Olympic Medical Center's largest union not to hold a one-day strike next week. Judge M. Karlyn Haberly this afternoon, agreed with Olympic Medical center lawyers that the 18-hour work stoppage planed for August 11th was an illegal work action since the union members were public employees working for a public entity. Judge Haberly issued a 14-day temporary restraining oder preventing members of SEIU Local 1199NW from walking off the job. OMC RN Linda Bryant, in a prepared statement representing the union, says they would comply with the order. Bryant says they disagree with the order ... Judge

KONP, August 3, 2011 Port Angeles - Olympic Medical Center lawyers are in court today seeking an injunction to stop a one-day walkout from nurses next week. OMC CEO Eric Lewis says the hospital district believes members of SEIU Local 1199NW can't legally stage the walkout because they are public employees. A Kitsap County Superior Court judge will make the decision. Meantime, Lewis told the Port Angeles Business Association yesterday OMC is making plans to keep the hospital open during the 18-hour strike set for a week from Thursday. But Lewis says the work stoppage could cost OMC more than $600-thousand dollars to fly in and train replacement registered nurses. ... OMC

Mark St.J. Couhig, Sequim Gazette, August 3, 2011 Pending a quick breakthrough in contract negotiations, 350-plus Olympic Medical Center workers will go on strike at 6 AM Thursday, August 11. The called 18-hour strike of members of SEIU 1199NW would result in the temporary absence of Olympic Memorial Hospital’s registered and licensed practical nurses, much of the service and maintenance staff and dozens of dietary workers. OMC management is working with temporary agencies to find and hire 150 workers. OMC CEO Eric Lewis said the workers will be flown in, housed and receive at least two days of prior orientation training - all at OMC’s expense. ... Disgruntled

Rob Ollikainen, Peninsula Daily News, August 3, 2011 Port Angeles - Olympic Medical Center's chief executive told Port Angeles business leaders Tuesday that the hospital has offered its union employees a fair and competitive benefits package. Service Employees International Union 1199NW has accused OMC of bad-faith bargaining, steep cuts to health care benefits and a refusal to guarantee safe levels of nurse staffing for patients. The labor dispute between Clallam County's largest employer and SEIU 1199NW reaches a pivotal point today. ... Olympic

Michelle Dupler, Tri-City Herald, July 29, 2011 Pasco - Management and employees at Lourdes Medical Center remain deadlocked on two expired union contracts covering nurses, technicians and other hospital workers. About 30 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers and Service Employees International Union picketed outside the Pasco hospital Thursday demanding fair terms for hospital workers. But the hospital's administration countered that it believes fair terms have been offered and rejected by the two unions. ... Deadlock

Devon Dolan, KNDO/KNDU, July 28, 2011 Pasco - Some local nurses and healthcare workers are speaking out about a proposed health plan that would slash some of their benefits. Lourdes Medical Center is trying to negotiate a union contract with their nurses, but some don't agree to the terms. Thursday a handful of Lourdes employees picketed at the hospital. They say the new contract would hurt their Extended Illness Bank.  The EIB is for people who have a catastrophic event. They can get full-time paid leave for up to 14 weeks. The problem is for the past few years the state said employees could also leave for sick family members. ... Local

Kristi Paulus, KVEW, July 28, 2011 Nurses at Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco hit the picket line today, after working without a contract for nine months. The nurses and technicians say Lourdes management is cutting back on their benefits by reducing long term sick pay if they or a family member should become ill.
 And, they say the hospital's proposed pay raise is not competitive with other area hospitals. "They don't want to give us a raise in the first year, 1% in the second, 1% in the third and nothing in the fourth which puts us 9% behind the rest of the Tri-Cities, it's not competitive," says nurse Karen Collins.

Lisa Jaklitsch, Gather, June 28, 2011 Wow, this is one of those tragedies where one wrong made two wrongs, etc. A nurse's suicide in April was the final wrong in a series of wrongs that began last September when the nurse, Kimberly Hiatt, accidentally gave a critically-ill baby an overdose of medication. From that point, everything went from wrong to worse. The little baby, 8-month-old Kaia Zautner, died five days later, Hiatt was fired, and then, in April, Hiatt could no longer cope with or live with her mistake - the first major mistake she'd made in her medical career of 24 years - and she hanged herself in her home. ... Nurse

Kimberly Hiatt killed herself after overdosing a baby, revealing the anguish of caregivers who make mistakes. JoNel Aleccia, MSNBC, June 27, 2011 For registered nurse Kimberly Hiatt, the horror began last September 14, the moment she realized she’d overdosed a fragile baby with 10 times too much medication. Stunned, she told nearby staff at the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital what had happened. “It was in the line of, ‘Oh my God, I have given too much calcium,’” recalled a fellow nurse, Michelle Asplin, in a statement to state investigators. ... Nurse

Washington State Nurses Association, June 21, 2011 Mount Vernon - Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), representing over 440 registered nurses at Skagit Valley Hospital, is holding an informational picket today to highlight issues critical to patient safety and nurse retention. Over the course of the day, nearly 300 nurses and community members will gather in front of Skagit Valley Hospital to speak out and educate the public about key concerns including changes to overtime, the ability to retain experienced nurses and drastic wage cuts. ... Registered