Seattle Children’s nurses new contract brings ​‘unprecedented’ raises

Seattle Children’s nurses on Thursday night voted to approve a new three-year contract that includes significant raises over the next year, particularly for newly graduated nurses.

The new Children’s contract is a result of 12 bargaining sessions, an informational picket and hundreds of hours of negotiation, as hospital nurses fought for higher wages, more generous leaves of absence and clearer language around meal and rest breaks. The vote to approve passed “overwhelmingly,” said Bobbi Nodell, a spokesperson for the Washington State Nurses Association which represents Children’s nurses.

According to the new contract, all nurses will receive a $6 per hour raise over the first year, an additional $4 per hour increase in the second year and 3% raise in the third year.

By the end of the third year, the final year of the new contract, the base rate for nurses will have increased 31%, from a current rate of $36.21 per hour to $47.60. Senior nurses, meanwhile, will jump from about $77.18 per hour to $89.80 by August 2024.

“While we wish we could have garnered even more, we want to recognize that the incredible turn-out at the picket and our solidarity in the workplace empowered us to aim high, act boldly, and win unprecedented raises,” WSNA said in a statement after the tentative agreement was reached a few weeks ago.