Virginia Mason patient-care technician urges King County council solidarity as contract bargaining enters strike-vote phase

Taryn Burnett, a patient-care technician at Virginia Mason Hospital on First Hill, used the public-comment period at Tuesday’s Metropolitan King County Council meeting to ask county officials for solidarity as her bargaining unit moves into a strike-vote phase.

Burnett told the council she is a member of the bargaining team for staff who unionized last year and said the group has been negotiating a new contract for about a year and a half. She said the bargaining process has included employer conduct she described as discriminatory and multiple unfair-labor-practice complaints that the group filed and subsequently won with the labor board. "We are fighting for livable wages, safety in our hospital, benefits that match the market value, and just general respect," Burnett said.

Burnett said the unit is starting a strike vote on the day of the council meeting and that, if the union proceeds to issue a strike notice, it may ask for solidarity from council members and King County representatives. She said the bargaining team will send follow-up emails to the council offices outlining any specific asks.

Why it matters: County officials do not set private hospital labor terms, but public officials often hear from healthcare workers about staffing, safety and wages because those issues affect regional health-system capacity. Burnett’s comments were made during the council’s public-comment period and did not trigger council action.

No council motion, referral or formal follow-up was recorded on Burnett’s remarks during the meeting.