SPOKANE, Wash. — SEIU Healthcare 1199NW said contract talks at Deaconess and Valley hospitals opened with a dispute over how healthcare workers would bargain with MultiCare executives.
The union said negotiations started last week for nurses, techs and service workers at both Spokane hospitals. According to SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, hospital leaders pushed for separate bargaining instead of one joint process that workers had used at Deaconess for 20 years.
The union described a tense first meeting and said it ended quickly…