To: Bill Robertson, CEO of MultiCare Health System
 CC: Shawn Ferguson, MultiCare Labor Relations

We, the undersigned workers, patients, and community members, are calling on MultiCare to stop breaking the law, respect its healthcare professionals, and bargain in good faith with the unionized IAM Healthcare workers at MultiCare Parkland Emergency.

These frontline workers—nurses, medical assistants, radiology techs, lab workers, and others—organized a union over a year ago to address unsafe staffing, low wages, improve working conditions, and ensure quality care for patients.

In the time since, MultiCare has failed to meet them in good faith. Instead, workers have been met with retaliation, delays, and repeated violations of their rights. Eighteen (18) Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges have been filed and are currently under investigation by the National Labor Relations Board.

In response, workers took the extraordinary step of holding a five-day Unfair Labor Practice strike, walking off the job to demand respect and accountability. Following the strike, the workers’ bargaining committee entered mediation with Shawn Ferguson representing MultiCare’s leadership—but once again, Shawn refused to meaningfully move on key proposals, failing to offer even the most basic solutions around compensation and fairness.

What these workers are asking for is simple and reasonable:

• Back pay for illegally withheld raises given at other MultiCare sites
• Safe staffing and better conditions to protect staff and patients
• Keep pay in lieu of benefits for workers who choose
• A fair first union contract!

If MultiCare continues to ignore workers and the community, a longer and more costly strike could be on the horizon—one that will have serious consequences for the company, for patients, and for our region. It doesn’t have to be this way.

“As a Parkland resident for over 20 years and President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, I’m deeply troubled by MultiCare’s actions. Workers in Parkland deserve dignity, fair treatment, and respect—and our entire community is watching.”
                           — April Sims, President, WA State Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Using temporary replacement workers during a strike—many of whom are unfamiliar with the Parkland facility or the patients they’re treating—puts safety at risk. No one wants this to escalate. Not the workers. Not the patients. Not the community.

But if MultiCare continues to deny justice, safety, and basic fairness, it is MultiCare—not the workers—that will be responsible for what happens next. 

What does this mean? If corporate won’t treat their workers fairly, the workers will have no choice but to continue to fight for themselves and on behalf of their patients – including the possibility of a prolonged strike. What happens next will be a direct result of MultiCare’s inaction! 

As a community, we stand with IAM Healthcare workers, and will do our best to support them in their fight for justice. 

We demand that MultiCare:

1. Cease all Unfair Labor Practices and follow federal labor law
2. Provide back pay and fair compensation
3. Bargain in good faith to reach a fair first contract
4. Ensure safe staffing by retaining experienced professionals instead of relying on unfamiliar, short-term replacements
5. Grant union representatives immediate access to the facility to be able to meet with workers

The workers at Parkland Emergency are holding the line for all of us. They stood up for their patients during the pandemic. They stood up for their coworkers by forming a union. Now it’s our turn to stand up with them.

Sign our petition and share with your friends and family to demand accountability, respect, and a fair contract. It’s time for MultiCare to do better.