MEDIA ADVISORY: Hundreds of Seattle Children’s nurses to picket hospital Sept. 13, noon to 3 p.m.

1,455 RNs call for better nurse staffing to provide safe, high quality care

What: Informational Picket

Who: Hundreds of Registered Nurses from Seattle Children’s, from among the 1,455 represented by WSNA WSNA President Jan Bussert, RN WSNA Executive Director Judy Huntington, MN, RN

When: Tuesday, Sept. 13, noon to 3 p.m. (rally with speakers begins at 1:30 p.m.)

Where: In front of Seattle Children’s Hospital, Sand Point Way NE between 41st Avenue and 40th Avenue NE

Why: Top issues at the negotiating table include:

Short-staffing and excessive overtime threaten the ability of Registered Nurses to continue providing the high quality care for which Seattle Children’s is known.

The Registered Nurses feel an enormous responsibility to the children and families from around the region who turn to Seattle Children’s to provide specialized care, and it is distressing to turn away families because there aren’t enough nurses to care for their children.

Seattle Children’s needs to provide wages and benefits that will allow them to recruit and retain the best pediatric nurses in the country. Real estate prices have skyrocketed in Seattle - up over 15 percent in 2015 alone. Nurses must be able to get to the hospital within 1 hour of being called, and they don’t have the discretion of living farther out in the suburbs where real estate is cheaper.

Nurses at Seattle Children’s take care of some of the sickest and most fragile children in the region, but they don’t have paid parental leave to take care of their newborns or newly adopted babies. It is time for that to change. Other Seattle based employers have already beat Seattle Children’s: City of Seattle, Amazon, Microsoft, Expedia, Google, and many hospitals around the country. Why not our resident expert in the care of our children?

Background WSNA represents approximately 1, 455 registered nurses at Seattle Children’s, including nurses in the hospital and clinics. WSNA and Seattle Children’s management have held seven negotiations sessions to date, with additional sessions scheduled for September 19 and 23.

Stay up to date on what’s happening in Seattle Children’s RN negotiations at www.facebook.com/NursingStrongSeattleChildrensRNs

About WSNA
WSNA is the leading voice and advocate for nurses in Washington state, providing union representation and trainings that allow nurses to reach their full professional potential and focus on caring for patients. WSNA represents more than 17,000 registered nurses who provide care in hospitals, clinics, schools and community and public health settings across the state.