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What the end of Washington’s state of emergency means to you

With the Governor lifting the COVID-19 state of emergency on Oct. 31, many members are wondering what this means to them.

October 25, 2022

Hospital staffing crisis caused by working conditions, not lack of qualified nurses

A review of recent national and Washington State nurse staffing data and survey results indicates that there are enough nurses to safely staff hospitals, but that the quality of jobs is leading many qualified registered nurses to leave their Washington hospital jobs.

February 10, 2022

'We can't keep doing this'

WSNA nurses share firsthand accounts of understaffing from the front lines.

January 17, 2022

Taking on the nurse staffing crisis

The public is becoming increasingly aware of a problem nurses have known about for a long time: the nurse staffing crisis that is dangerously depleting our hospitals. The COVID-19 pandemic has both highlighted and accentuated this crisis.

January 17, 2022

Standing together for real staffing solutions

WSNA and the other two primary health care unions in Washington state call for a sustain­able, account­able commit­ment to safe staffing in every depart­ment of every hospital in the state.

January 17, 2022

Symptomatic health care workers must not be forced to work

Press release Statement

We call on employers to clarify their policies, and we call on the state to ensure workers cannot be forced to return while sick, or disciplined for refusing to work while symptomatic with COVID.

January 14, 2022

Washington state health care workers call on hospitals to mitigate the staffing crisis

Press release

Nurses and other frontline workers are calling on hospitals to use the tools and resources they have available to finally begin mitigating this crisis for workers and patients.

October 19, 2021

WSNA partners with DOH to support #VaccinateWA campaign

WSNA nurses from all over Washington state are participating in the VaccinateWA campaign. Listen to their stories in these powerful videos encouraging the public to get vaccinated.

October 8, 2021

WSNA responds to Nursing Commission statement

In September, the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission put out a statement on COVID-19 misinformation. WSNA sent a letter to the Commission expressing concerns with the statement.

October 6, 2021

Washington hospitals on the brink of unprecedented crisis

The reality cannot be overstated: Washington hospitals are on the brink of a crisis, and without immediate and impactful action to retain and attract critical workers the state’s health care system could face an unprecedented collapse in capacity and care.

September 13, 2021

WSNA responds to governor’s COVID-19 vaccination order

Because Governor Inslee has issued this mandate, health care employers – public and private – have to abide by the mandate. However, all employers still have to bargain with WSNA over the effects of the mandate.

August 10, 2021

Union statement on vaccination requirement for health care workers

Press release Statement

As unions repre­senting nurses and health care workers in Washington state, WSNA, SEIU Health­care 1199NW and UFCW21 support science-based public health direc­tives on COVID-19 vacci­na­tion require­ments for front­line health care workers, with medical and religious exemp­tions.

August 9, 2021

High-risk worker proclamation to be replaced by new law June 28

On June 21, Governor Inslee announced that three coronavirus pandemic-related proclamations would be rescinded in anticipation of Washington state's June 30 reopening date. One of these proclamations, the High-Risk Worker Proclamation, will be rescinded June 28 and transition to the new Health Emergency Labor Standards Act.

June 24, 2021

Health care worker presumptive eligibility becomes law

On May 11, Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5190 into law — which goes into effect immediately and provides presumptive eligibility for workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.

May 12, 2021

UPDATE: How you can help administer COVID-19 vaccinations

To help deliver vaccines across the state, nurses must register as an Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner in the Washington State Emergency Registry of Volunteers (WAserv) at WAserv.org.

February 1, 2021

COVID-19: Voices from the front lines

In October, as a winter surge of COVID-19 cases loomed ahead, we spoke to five nurses about their experi­ences on the front lines over the past year. Here are their stories.

January 14, 2021

Washington hospitals must do better to keep nurses on the job

Washington hospitals must do better by nurses and health care workers to keep them safe and keep them on the job, where we all so desperately need them.

January 9, 2021

Letter from Governor Inslee to hospital administrators: Listen to workers for COVID-19 vaccine rollout

"I strongly encourage you to work closely with the health care workers and their unions in your facilities as you are developing your COVID vaccine distribution and prioritization plan," wrote Governor Jay Inslee in a letter to hospital administrators on Dec. 15.

December 18, 2020

WSNA statement on COVID vaccine

We believe that healthcare workers should be prioritized to receive the vaccination and strongly recommend that registered nurses be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a key component of a comprehensive prevention effort.

December 7, 2020

Unions praise Governor Inslee for addressing concerns of frontline workers in new proclamation

Press release

Representing more than 64,000 nurses and frontline health care workers, the Washington State Nurses Association, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and UFCW 21 applaud Governor Jay Inslee for listening to and addressing the concerns of our members.

November 25, 2020

WSNA statement on COVID surge and frontline nurses

Nurses will continue to step up and take care of patients through this pandemic; state health officials and hospitals need to step up and make sure nurses have what they need to stay safe and healthy

November 13, 2020

AFT, AFSCME, WSNA, and UNAC/UHCP sue Trump admin for shelving standard that would protect America’s healthcare workers from exposure to infectious diseases

Press release

Unions representing 500k+ nurses, health professionals demand Trump’s OSHA stop unconscionable delay and issue workplace protections against COVID-19, influenza, Ebola, and more.

October 29, 2020

Health care unions statement on COVID-19 outbreak at St. Michael Hospital

The leaders of WSNA and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW today called on state officials to address the serious shortcomings in oversight and transparency that we believe contributed to the severe outbreak of COVID-19 among staff and patients at St. Michael Hospital in Bremerton.

September 2, 2020

Governor updates vulnerable worker protections

On July 29, Governor Jay Inslee updated the proclamation that provides protections for vulnerable workers in Washington state and extended it through the duration of the current state of emergency.

July 29, 2020