On Jan. 15, the registered nurses of SEIU Local 1199NW became the fourth labor group to announce they're suing Gov. Gregoire over her proposed state budget and its failure to include their bargained pay raises.
The average wage of the local's 860 members, who care for the developmentally disabled and mentally ill in nursing homes and psychiatric wards, is currently $22.87 an hour. The contract slated to start July 1 stipulates a 2.2 percent raise that would total $6.5 million, but money, the nurses say, is not the point -- it's safe staffing levels.
The two state departments that employ the nurses currently have a vacancy rate of 12 percent, the nurses say, creating a demoralizing and dangerous work environment. "When people are getting hurt, people leave, " says Marcy Johnsen, a nurse who works with developmentally disabled youth at Seattle's Fircrest School. "It's a vicious cycle we really want to stop."