Lori,

WSNA has reviewed the January 15, 2026, message sent by MultiCare leadership to WSNA-represented NICU nurses at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital regarding ongoing contract negotiations. Unfortunately, that message omits and minimizes several of the most serious issues nurses have raised repeatedly at the bargaining table, issues that directly impact patient safety, staffing stability, and the quality of care provided to children and families.

Since negotiations began on October 15, nurses have bargained in good faith through nine bargaining sessions. Nurses and their elected representatives have come prepared, advanced detailed proposals, and worked collaboratively to reach agreement. While progress has been made on some items, Mary Bridge leadership has failed to meaningfully address several critical concerns that remain unresolved.

Most notably, leadership’s message completely ignores one of the central issues nurses are picketing over: the continued use of Clinical Assistant Nurse Managers (CANMs) to replace bargaining unit nurses in the charge nurse role. Nurses have provided clear, repeated examples of how this practice undermines unit communication, removes essential bedside expertise from care teams, and creates unsafe conditions. For the safety of pediatric patients, nurses are demanding a straightforward standard: charge nurses must be union nurses, every shift, every time.

The message also fails to acknowledge management’s insistence on contract language that would allow staffing plans to be changed without the support of bedside nurses. WSNA is asking for a basic safeguard, that changes to nurse staffing plans be supported by a majority of the staffing committee, including at least one WSNA-represented nurse. This is not an unreasonable demand; it is a minimum standard for ensuring that staffing decisions are made by those providing direct patient care.

These unresolved issues, along with others such as retaining nurses on night shift, are the reason nurses are engaging in an informational picket. The picket is not about wages alone; it is about patient safety, safe working conditions, and respect for the professional role of bedside nurses in the NICU that serve some of the most vulnerable patients in our community.

Mary Bridge nurses are fully aware of the dedication and focus WSNA representatives have brought to negotiations. We urge MultiCare leadership to be transparent with the public and with employees about the proposals that have been repeatedly rejected, particularly those addressing nurses’ most urgent safety concerns.

WSNA remains committed to bargaining in good faith and hopes to reach a fair agreement. However, if Mary Bridge leadership continues to refuse meaningful movement on these critical issues, nurses will continue to escalate their collective action to protect patient safety, working conditions, and the integrity of bargaining unit work.

Sincerely,

Jared Richardson, MN, RN
WSNA Nurse Representative
Washington State Nurses Association

CC: Mary Bridge NICU Local Unit Members