98% Vote to Strike: Seattle Children's Nurses Fight for Safety w/ Kara Yates & Therese Hill

In this critical episode of The Gritty Nurse Podcast, Amie Archibald-Varley hosts Kara Yates, RN (WSNA Union Co-Chair) and Therese Hill, BSN, RN(Membership Officer) to discuss a historic turning point for nursing in Washington.

This conversation goes beyond the headlines, exploring the dire conditions that led nurses to the negotiation table. We expose how stalled contract negotiations have endangered patient safety, fueled critical staffing shortages, and allowed workplace violence to escalate—all while the hospital remains highly profitable. But since the episode, things have changed.

For the first time in its 118-year history, nurses at Seattle Children's Hospital have overwhelmingly authorized a strike.

Yates and Hill detail the nurses' core demands, emphasizing that the potential strike is not about wages alone but is a necessary action to protect the community's children by ensuring safe staffing and a workplace where nurses can heal without losing their PTO after being assaulted. Hear firsthand why this show of unity is a powerful mandate for change, and why community support is now vital to pushing the hospital to prioritize care over corporate profit.

Links for WSNA:

https://www.wsna.org/

https://www.wsna.org/news/2025/seattle-childrens-nurses-vote-overwhelmingly-to-authorize-strike

https://www.wsna.org/news/2025/perspective-seattle-childrens-is-promoting-ableism-with-its-sick-time-policy

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