PARKLAND, Wash. — A group of healthcare workers at an emergency medical center in Parkland plan to go on strike this week, citing unfair labor practices.
Workers at MultiCare Emergency-Parkland are planning a five-day strike, claiming the company withheld raises, blocked union access, and refused to negotiate key contract terms.
Parkland healthcare workers strike
Healthcare workers will strike outside the MultiCare Emergency Parkland location at 14815 Pacific Ave S. in Tacoma.
Approximately 75 Parkland healthcare workers, represented by IAM District 160, have called for an Unfair Labor Practice strike, which will take place from 12:01 a.m. Monday, to 11:59 p.m. on July 4.
“Our demands are clear: MultiCare must immediately stop breaking the law and bargain fairly,” Beth Bergeon, IAM Business Representative, said. “This strike is about respect, safety, and dignity—not just for our workers, but for the community we serve.”
The workers certified their union on May 7, and since then, IAM District 160 claims that MultiCare has committed at least 14 Unfair Labor Practices.
The alleged violations include withholding standard status quo raises despite providing them at other facilities, denying union representatives workplace access, illegally interrogating workers, and engaging in bad-faith bargaining by refusing to negotiate critical terms.
“I’ve negotiated for over a decade, and I’ve never sat across the table from someone with such blatant disregard and a real aversion for reaching a fair agreement,” Brandon Hemming, lead negotiator for IAM, said. “Shawn, MultiCare’s lead negotiator, continuously throws up roadblocks.”
According to the release, the actions by MultiCare have contributed to a significant drop in staff, and noted losses of roughly 45 employees since certification until the announced strike.
MultiCare employees perspective
“Workers at the Parkland facility—known widely as the busiest OCED (Off-Campus Emergency Department) location within MultiCare—face unique challenges, handling significant trauma patient volumes without direct hospital support,” the release stated.
Michelle Zaun, an emergency service technician at the Parkland MultiCare facility since 2022 and a member of the collective bargaining team, told The Tacoma News Tribune what she works through on a daily basis.
“We take care of some of the most horrendous things that come through that door,” Zaun told The Tacoma News Tribune. “We have traumas, we have security issues where we’re located, and we always handle it... We’re not in here demanding unreasonable things.”
MultiCare told The Tacoma News Tribune via email that it has bargained in good faith for more than a year to reach a contract that supports an equitable and economically sustainable workplace.
The Parkland facility will remain open throughout the strike, and the health system does not anticipate any disruptions to its patients’ care.
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