MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital employees affiliated with Teamsters Local Union 760 voted Wednesday to authorize a strike, union officials said.
The employees include technical and technologist employees in the surgical, CT, radiology, ultrasound, MRI, nuclear medicine, pharmacy and laboratory departments.
A MultiCare spokesman said the hospital will remain open and operating if a strike does occur.
About 169 MultiCare employees voted to join the union in January 2025. They said their health care and retirement benefits were cut following MultiCare's takeover of the hospital in 2023.
"This is unfortunate for both parties," Richard Salinas, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters 760, told the Yakima Herald-Republic.
The union must give 10 days notice of any strike action at a hospital under labor law, Salinas said. As of Friday, it had not yet done so officially, he said.
The union has been in negotiations over its first contract for nearly a year, Salinas said. It has not reached an agreement on about half of the articles of the contract, he said. MultiCare and the Teamsters have bargaining meetings coming up.
Some delay was caused by the federal shutdown, as a federal mediator was involved, he said.
Marcus Perry, MultiCare spokesperson, said in an email Friday that the organization has been bargaining in good faith with the Teamsters and offers market-competitive wages and benefits to its employees.
"If a strike does occur, the hospital will remain open and fully staffed," Perry said. "With the help of a federal mediator, we look forward to an agreement that will position both our team members and our hospital for the future."
Source: yakimaherald.com
