Speaker 1: Three part of the City Council. Agenda Item one Resolution 31917. Recognizing the importance of our health care workers supporting the unionized workers of SEIU Healthcare 1189 Northwest exercising their right to strike and withhold their labor.
Speaker 0: Cast member back.
Speaker 4: Shop. Thank you very much. And colleagues, thank you for voting with me on this resolution. It's recognizing the importance of all of our health care workers and supporting the unionized workers of SEIU Health Care 1199 Northwest to exercise their right to strike and withhold their labor. Clearly, these health care workers don't want to be doing that. We know their hearts. We and for those of you who are in the audience, I just want you to know how much we appreciate you. I think that Alison Eisinger from my office is over there. And. Yes. Alison McClain, thank you. Alison Wright, my legislative aide, who I think I ought to know by now, thank you for being here and for bringing this forward. And I am not blowing any secrets. You've been so honorable about this. Alison's baby was born at only 26 weeks. His name is Aiden. Right? And Aiden is in the hospital right now at Swedish. And we are doing everything. The family is doing everything that they can to take care of that little boy and they need the nurses. So I am honored to bring forward this resolution and just let people know that this is about safety for patients and workers. It's about wages and benefits. Yes. But mostly it's about the respect that they need and deserve. And we need these vacancies filled and we need to take care of Aiden. So I ask to pass this resolution.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Baxter, and thank you for bringing this forward. Any comments, questions or comments from any of our colleagues, council members who want.
Speaker 7: Thank you, President Howell. I needless to say, as an elected representative, working people and also as a rank and file teachers union member myself, I strongly support this resolution and I'm in complete solidarity with SEIU 1199 Northwest and all the healthcare workers they represent over the last several months. My staff and I and many of the community supporters, we have all marched with Swedish Providence workers and learned about their struggles. We've learned about the chronic short staffing that got to move back or to mention that endangers vote patient safety, and about the health care workers who are in jeopardy of losing their own health care benefits because Swedish providence wants to cut them. That's the irony we're facing here. It's outrageous that the health care system that operates 14 hospitals, hundreds of ambulatory care sites, and that generates $7.6 billion and pays its top 15 executives $41 million should treat its workers and our communities with such a cavalier attitude. Swedish Province's Profits Before Patients and caregivers attitude is precisely why we need to urgently fight for Medicare for All in this country. We need to put patients before profits. And if healthcare workers must strike and are forced to strike for a decent contract, it is entirely because of the failure of the Swedish Providence executives to support workers and patients. And if Swedish forces healthcare workers to strike, then socialist alternative. And I will be on the picket lines and I have no doubt many community members will be in support of you. And just very quickly, on a personal note, this whole campaign, you know, the reelection campaign that was so, you know, massively attacked by the Seattle Times editorial board, all the corporate elite of the city, Amazon among them. It took a real toll on all the campaign activists, including myself. And the day after election night, my health just and I'm and I don't usually share personal stuff, but I'm sharing this because it's relevant here, really. It's like my body got the memo that it's okay to fall sick. And I ended up in urgent care several times in the just in 15 days. And and it's when you are truly vulnerable and you end up in a health care facility and you see the dedication and just incredible caring with which the health health care providers address your needs and the needs of everybody who there all the patients who are there. It's really palpable why we should all be standing with our health care workers. And so I'm proud to be standing with you.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Councilmember Swan. Councilmember Mosquito.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. President. Today, I'm honored to be standing in solidarity with the 1199 workers from SEIU Healthcare Northwest. Today, I'm honored to be standing with them in their call for a contract that respects the work that they do every single day, the care that they put into caring for their patients and our community. It will come as no surprise that I stand in solidarity with these workers as a long time labor activist and union member. But today, it's personal. Today I stand here with Camila, my daughter, who is healthy today because of the workers at SEIU 1199, the workers who helped to make sure that in the first three days of her life they were there 24 seven. It's those workers who came in every few hours to check her vitals to make sure that she was healthy. Who got the poop out of her lungs when she came out to make sure that she was breathing and to make sure that she was weighed and that she was clean and that we felt cared for. It's the workers in the delivery room, in the triage room. It's the folks who clean the room every day. It's the people who came in every single day from the people who take out the trash to the ones who are making sure that all the stitches are put in there. Right. Those are the folks who make us healthy. The workers. SEIU 1199, Health Care Northwest workers. Those are the folks who made us healthy. It wasn't the broken elevator that didn't work. And to our post triage area. It wasn't the light that wouldn't turn on when we needed the post delivery services. And it wasn't the hot water that didn't work in my sink that made it a great experience. It was the workers. When you're sitting on $23 billion in revenue. $11.3 billion in cash reserves. $780 million in profit. And an $11.5 million in compensation for the CEO. You would think that those things would be cared for. The elevator, the light, the hot water. But my God, we need our workers taken care of. When you are sitting on that much revenue, it is the workers who make that place function and make our community safe. So do it for the folks that we've heard about every single day. Do it for the workers who talk about not being able to afford to live in the city anymore because they don't get the compensation. Like I heard about the people who talk about crying on the way to work every day because their schedules are getting messed with the ratios, the nurse, the patient ratios that haven't been adequately staffed and the the refusal to hear the nurses and the health care team when they say they need more adequate staffing, do it for those folks who say that they used to love coming to work, that all they wanted to do was be a health care professional. Do it for them. Do it for folks like me, for mothers like Allison, for the folks who go to the McHugh, do it for the patients that they take care of. Respect your workers. And by respecting your workers, you will respect your community, respect the bargaining process. So no one ever has to worry about crossing that picket line because we respect workers and we want that contract to be passed. Now, do it for the workers we honor, usually of 1199.
Speaker 0: Oh. Does anyone dare speak after that? Thank you, Councilmember. Scared. I think we all felt that in the room, in the viewing audience. Okay. I think that would be an appropriate signal for us to vote on this important legislation. So I will move to adopt resolution 31917. It's moved. And second, those in favor of adoption of the resolution. Please vote i i those opposed vote no. The motion carries and the chair will sign it.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 0: Okay. Please read the next agenda item.
Speaker 1: Agenda item to cancel Bill 119703 relating to city employment. Authorized execution of the collective bargaining agreement between the City of Seattle and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry Local 32 and ratifying confirming certain prior acts.
A RESOLUTION recognizing the importance of our healthcare workers; supporting the unionized workers of SEIU Healthcare 1199 NW exercising their right to strike and withhold their labor.