Take Action for Staffing!

136 ADOs have been submitted so far in the month of October.

136 opportunities for MultiCare management to do the right thing and increase staffing incentives, listen to their nurses, and ensure our community gets the care it deserves. MultiCare has shown a pattern of cost-cutting since their recently approved merger with Samaritan Health in Oregon. But it’s not the job of the nurses that run their hospitals to increase profit margins for the C-Suite. Our job is to provide high-quality care to patients, which we cannot do in our current workplace conditions. 

Our union is taking action – it’s up to all of us to speak up and let our community know what MultiCare is doing to them. 

We are asking nurses to show up to the Pierce County Council Meeting on Tuesday, 10/27, to let our elected officials know what is happening at Tacoma General, especially the staffing conditions in the ED and FBC. The County Council has authority over public health in Pierce County, and with election season coming up it’s a great time to remind officials of their responsibility to workers like us. 

The County Council meeting starts at 1500 in downtown Tacoma at 1501 Market Street, Suite 140. Public comment is towards the end of the agenda, so if you can’t make it until closer to 1600 that’s ok! You can find more information on the County Council meeting and the planned agenda here.   

If you can’t attend the County Council meeting, there are still lots of ways to show up and put pressure on MultiCare to do the right thing: 

1. Submit public comment here for WSNA to send to the council. WSNA will be gathering public comments on working conditions at MultiCare TG and submitting them to the council on Tuesday. 
2. To attend and/or comment at the County Council meeting remotely over Zoom call 253-215-8782 and use Zoom Web ID 976-6178-7423, or use Zoom link https://piercecountywa.zoom.us/j/97661787423.
3. Speak on your ADO at Staffing Committee. Every nurse has a right by law, and the HSC charter to come and speak to the HSC about your ADO. This is paid time, and if you are working management must relieve you and ensure the relief is sufficient to cover your patients (not just hand them off to another nurse with a patient load). It is important that we hear from the nurses who are living these working conditions, not just management’s version of events.

For more guidance on how to ensure your staffing complaint is effective, check our WSNA guidance on how to effectively document ADOs here.

No Skeleton Crews! (Even on Halloween)

Your WSNA Nurse Representative and Officers will be rounding the hospital Tuesday night with these stickers that we need EVERY nurse at Tacoma General to wear. This visible showing of solidarity ensures that we can continue to fight for the staffing resources we need as a united front. Send us pictures of you and your coworkers stickered up! 

Make your voice heard this November: Remember to Vote! 

Decisions made at the ballot box affect nurses, our patients, and the future of healthcare. Make sure your voice is heard by voting early! You can find more information about tracking your ballot and who the WSNA PAC endorsed here.

If you want to continue to pressure our elected officials to do the right thing for nurses and our patients, consider registering for 2027 Lobby Day! You can find more information here.

In solidarity,

Therese Juntunen, Chair
Michelle Stevenson, Co-Chair
Rachel Ballou-Church, Secretary
Christina Nicholson, Treasurer
Anna Vermaire, Grievance Officer
George Murray, Grievance Officer
Jamaica Corpuz, Grievance Officer
Sarah Huber, Grievance Officer
Saudah Ssemakula, Grievance Officer
Belinda Laju, Membership Officer
Jaime Carym, Membership Officer

Jared Richardson, WSNA Nurse Representative