Posts tagged health care costs
Connecticut state worker contracts expired on July 1 and unions want more pay
July 8, 2025 // With the start of the new state budget year on July 1, contracts for 45,000 unionized state workers have expired and union leaders said Thursday that there is evidence of employee retention and recruitment "failures" by the Lamont administration
Friction builds between Walz, public sector unions on multiple fronts
June 6, 2025 // Possible layoffs, a return-to-office directive and tense contract negotiations are straining Gov. Tim Walz’s relationship with public sector labor unions that represent thousands of state workers. There has been a notable shift in tone given that Walz has delivered many wins to unions since first being elected governor in 2018. The DFLer signed several worker protection measures into law, like paid sick leave. He signed laws enhancing collective bargaining rights and wage theft protections.
Geisinger, nurses union reach contract agreement after months of negotiating
April 14, 2025 // After months of negotiating — and a five-day strike in February that caught national attention — over 800 unionized Geisinger Wyoming Valley nurses have reached a contract agreement with Geisinger executives. According to a release from SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the contract covers nurses at Geisinger Wyoming Valley, Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre and Geisinger Healthplex CenterPoint in Pittston.
Unionization effort fails at south Sacramento manufacturing plant
March 17, 2025 // Workers voted 838 to 538 against unionizing in an election Thursday. A Siemens spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning. The workers attempted to organize under the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 549 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, in a group called Siemens Workers United.
The strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is now the longest in the nation. And it’s not over.
December 9, 2024 // Zack Tanner, the Newspaper Guild’s president, stood away from the crowd, wearing a Penguins jersey and smoking a cigar. His dog, a 103 lb. Akita named Bella, had been a little too excited by another, smaller dog in the crowd. “This has been elongated to this point solely because of the people inside,” he said. “In a labor battle, there’s strikers and there’s scabs. There’s two sides to a picket line.” As the strike has gone on, tensions between both sides have grown, and it’s unclear how or when the strike will end. On Nov. 13, the first negotiations between the Post-Gazette’s lawyers and the union in over a year ended after Tanner threw a chair at the wall of a conference room in the Omni William Penn Hotel.
Workers at Milk-Bone plant in Buffalo on strike
October 31, 2024 // "We were disappointed to learn of the Buffalo BCTGM Local 36G Union’s decision to strike. We have a strong track record of providing competitive wages and benefits to all employees and have always engaged fairly and transparently in our negotiations with our Union partners. Regarding our negotiations with the BCTGM, we are confident the agreement put forward was not only fair but competitive based on the current market. While we manage this issue, we remain committed to delivering on the needs of consumers. We have enacted contingency plans including shipping existing inventory and leveraging complementary labor to support production. We will also maintain production of our Milk-Bone dog snacks at our other manufacturing facilities as well as several co-packers."
Union, hospital workers voice concerns over proposed WHS-UPMC merger
October 6, 2023 // Petro said her husband, sister, and nephew work at WHS. “If UPMC takes over and cuts wages, benefits or staffing, you see how that won’t just be a problem for me, it will upend my entire family,” said Petro. She noted SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania’s recent complaint filed with the Department of Justice alleging UPMC, the largest private employer in the state, is abusing its position to suppress wages, increase workload, and keep workers from departing to other jobs. “A UPMC takeover will not be good for Washington. We can do better. We have to do better, for the 2,000 employees and their families that count on Washington Health System for their livelihoods,” said Petro. “In the Lehigh Valley, an MRI at St. Luke’s costs $650 whereas at the (Lehigh Valley Health Network), it costs $2,010. Good data suggests this price variation and the ability to command higher and higher prices by acquiring local hospitals is one of the key drivers of consolidations,” Gabriel said. “Larger hospitals want to get bigger and bigger and that’s important to note because frequently the reason they give for consolidation is lowering our health care costs.”