Posts tagged healthcare workers
Opinion | California’s $25-an-Hour Minimum-Wage Boomerang
May 30, 2024 // The state’s budget deficit has ballooned to $45 billion. Mr. Newsom projects that the new healthcare minimum wage would cost the state $4 billion more a year owing to higher Medicaid costs and compensation for workers at state-owned facilities. Legislative analyses warned about these costs, but Mr. Newsom signed the law anyway. Thus the minimum wage for healthcare workers is set to rise to between $18 and $23 an hour this Saturday, depending on the type and size of healthcare provider. California’s current minimum wage for all workers is $16 an hour. Nearly all workers at healthcare facilities including janitors will have to be paid at least $25 an hour by 2028. Democrats shrugged when healthcare providers warned that the wage mandate could force cuts to patient services. Who cares if Californians wait longer before being seen at the ER? But now Democrats worry that the state’s higher health costs could force bigger government spending cuts. Oh no. Californians may have to wait even longer for their bullet train to nowhere.
Palo Alto Medical Foundation Nurses Vote Union Out at Sunnyvale and Mountain View Facilities
March 14, 2024 // Victory continues string of successful union decertification attempts by healthcare workers across the country Palo Alto Medical Foundation Nurses Vote Union Out at Sunnyvale and Mountain View Facilities
A Seat at the Table: Physicians Have Been Unionizing in Droves
January 3, 2024 // Mugdha Mokashi, MD, a second-year ob/gyn resident, emphasized that residents and fellows often take care of patients with the greatest needs and the fewest resources. "This is about having a seat at the table" to help make decisions that affect working conditions for residents and fellows, as well as others, including nurses and midwives, Mokashi told MedPage Today, adding that the people "directly responsible for making patient care better" should hold power within an institution.
‘Louisville is a union town’: A look back at the 2023 labor movement in the metro area
December 19, 2023 // This year, Kentucky saw 16 labor actions, including strikes and protests, which is more than the combined total of labor events in 2021 and 2022, according to Cornell ILR’s Labor Action Tracker as of Dec. 7. Each of these labor actions, from union giants such as Teamsters Local 89 at UPS and United Auto Workers Local 862 at Ford to the smaller labor actions at places including Heine Brothers Coffee, Sunergos Coffee and Rainbow Blossom, have resulted in victories for Louisville workers. “People are realizing, those that work for a living in places like Ford, in places like GE [Appliances], UPS and other large employers as well as the smaller employers, the baristas in these coffee shops ... that their only real option to progress themselves at their jobs and in their lives is to come together in solidarity as union members,” Londrigan said.
INDIANAPOLIS: Nurses at IU Health’s University and Methodist hospitals eye unionizing
December 11, 2023 // Other IU Health hospitals would not be part of the union. IU Health is currently in the process of expanding its downtown Indianapolis facilities – with the expectation that University and Methodist hospitals will eventually be consolidated sometime in 2027. “In the next five-plus years, or whenever that big building is done, we will be one hospital,” Armes said. Travel nurses would not be included in the union, but Armes said they have been supportive of their organizing. Bailey Pollard is another nurse working to unionize the two hospitals. He said nursing shortages are not a problem unique to IU Health.
Bitter strike over as nurses, N.J. hospital reach tentative agreement after 120+ days
December 3, 2023 // For months, the union members went without paychecks and benefits, which the hospital had cut off in September. The two sides were at a standstill, and for a time, it was unclear how they would find a path forward. The strike drew national attention, as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) visited Rutgers University in October to hold a Senate committee hearing on the labor dispute and hospital staffing guidelines. At the event. Sanders expressed support for the nurses and the ratios they sought while lambasting hospital leaders for not appearing. The hospital — ranked the fifth best in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report — had maintained that strict staffing ratios would not allow it the necessary flexibility during times of high patient volume. But many nurses said they were working in untenable conditions, often forced to juggle five or six patients during a given shift, which they said impacted the patients’ well-being as well as the nurses’ ability to provide adequate care.
Video: Howard Brown Health workers to begin 2-day strike at Chicago clinics Tuesday
November 14, 2023 // Howard Brown Health says they plan to maintain scheduled appointments for all services Tuesday and Wednesday but patients could experience some delays. Meanwhile union leaders plan to hold a news conference later Tuesday. A large rally at a clinic in Lakeview is set for Wednesday. The union plans to also boycott Howard Brown's Brown Elephant thrift stores. Howard Brown Health VP of external relations Katie Metos, issued a statement saying, "In response to the work stoppage, Howard Brown Health has implemented a contingency plan that ensures all patient appointments are fulfilled, while also following all labor regulations. Everyone who has a scheduled appointment during this strike will be seen. When our community members seek our care, they are relying on us to meet their vital healthcare needs. We are committed to being a reliable pillar of care for our communities.
Why strikes are working and which industries could be next
November 14, 2023 // A similar story could play out for other workers who endured hardships during the pandemic — and whose industries are still struggling to fill open positions, including teachers, childcare professionals, and food service workers. "From meatpacking plants to grocery stores and coffee shops, workers are realizing more than ever, not just how essential they are, but the strength that comes from standing together to improve their working conditions," Dave Young, International Vice President for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, told Insider.
‘A historic moment’: Oregon teachers launch first-ever strike
November 8, 2023 //
Thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers plan to stage 3-day strike Wednesday
October 4, 2023 //