SEATTLE – Unionized University of Washington Medicine staff and labor organizers rallied at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Thursday, calling for better protections from the novel coronavirus and protesting planned furloughs and layoffs in the face of $500 million in losses during the current pandemic.

Workers from the University of Washington campus and UW Medicine’s medical facilities participating in the demonstration accuse the university of failing to implement “basic public health guidance designed to flatten the curve, including proper notification to staff regarding exposure, the installation of sneeze guards to protect staff and the public, and the distribution of personal protective equipment,” according to the Washington Federation of State Employees.

The “unity break” demonstration happened as UW Medicine is in protracted contract negotiations with the University of Washington Housestaff Association, a union that represents resident physicians, who are pushing for better working conditions, pay and benefits, The Seattle Times reported.

The bargaining has produced tensions exacerbated by COVID-19 and the strain it has put on health care workers.