PeaceHealth nurses announce picket

Nurses plan to picket outside PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center on Tuesday, April 29, one month after rejecting a proposed union contract.

The Washington State Nurses Association represents 1,100 nurses at the hospital, according to a union news release. Wages, a change in insurance providers and “a feeling of disrespect from management” are the union’s main issues, the release continues.

The union’s previous contract expired March 31, freeing members from its “no strike” clause which also forbade pickets. WSNA began collecting “picket pledges” — a gauge of members’ interest in a potential picket — in early April, said Kelly Skahan, the union’s labor counsel.