Nurses reject Swedish Medical Center offer

Nurses and other workers at Swedish Medical Center have overwhelmingly rejected what the hospital system has described as its best and final offer on health-care and retirement benefits.

Cheers went up outside Swedish's First Hill hospital Sunday night when the results were announced to union members. The union leadership had recommended rejecting the offer.

The vote followed six months of contentious negotiations between Swedish and the Service Employees International Union 1199NW, which represents nurses, technicians and other support staff. The union represents 4,200 workers; more than 1,900 union members voted.

In what the union described as the largest turnout in its history, 80 percent of the members who voted rejected the hospital's offer and urged Swedish to return to the bargaining table.

"We realize we have to make some compromises, and we're willing to do that," said Celeste McAloon, a registered nurse and member of the bargaining committee. "But we need to keep talking."

Ron Sperling, chief financial officer for Swedish, said it was too early to comment on how the hospital system would proceed. But he said it was unlikely that Swedish would return to the table and possible that it would impose changes despite the vote. "We've made concessions along the way," he said. "We really don't think there's anything more to bargain."

During the voting, which began Nov. 13 and ended Sunday, members could sign a petition that essentially would authorize a strike vote. Union officials would not say how many members signed the petition, which they described as an internal gauge of support for a strike in the future.

At this point, they said they hoped to avoid a strike at all costs.

The union and Swedish decided last year during contract negotiations to delay discussions of health-care and retirement benefits until this year. Six months ago, bargaining over benefits began, with the union rejecting Swedish's first offer in July.

The negotiations have turned ugly at times. Sunday night, each side accused the other of intimidating members during the vote.

Swedish is the Northwest's largest hospital system, with three Seattle hospitals and an emergency room and specialty center in Issaquah. It is known regionally for its "gold standard" in benefits and pay.

The hospital's offer calls for employees to contribute an estimated 7 percent of their health-care premiums, starting in 2007. They now do not contribute toward their premiums.

The hospital system also wants all new employees to enroll in a 401(k)-style plan, in which workers would manage their retirement investments; current workers would choose between that plan and the existing guaranteed-pension plan.

Union officials have said some members would not be able to afford health care under the proposed changes. They also pointed to the larger issue of a nursing shortage, saying the cutbacks would discourage nurses from working at Swedish.

For its part, the hospital system said it must make the changes to remain competitive. Many local hospitals have a similar 401(k)-style plan, Sperling said, and most hospitals have asked employees to share the cost of health-care premiums.

Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com