News of the Month — November
An analysis conducted for The New York Times showed that hospital mergers essentially banished competition and raised prices for hospital admissions in most cases, according to an examination of 25 metropolitan areas with the highest rate of consolidation from 2010 through 2013, a peak period for mergers. The analysis showed that the price of an average hospital stay soared, with prices in most areas going up between 11 percent and 54 percent in the years afterward.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/health/hospital-mergers-health-care-spending.html
The USC Daily Trojan wrote about our contract agreement with Keck and Norris, focusing on the help we received from students aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America and the Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation.
http://dailytrojan.com/2018/11/13/student-organization-advocates-for-health-care-worker-contracts/
A new report on the state of mental health in the United States says that in recent years, there have been “alarming” increases in major depression in youth and in the prevalence of adults harboring suicidal thoughts. The 2018 installment of “The State of Mental Health in America” from the nonprofit Mental Health America also says most Americans who need access to mental health care do not get it, and it details the long-term consequences of childhood trauma.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/11/02/major-depression-american-youth-rising-new-report-says/?utm_term=.5b8766ed18ee
In a peer-reviewed study to be published early next year in Industrial and Labor Relations Review, a team of researchers led by the Vanderbilt University professor Tae-Youn Park found that union-represented women in the U.S. are 17 percent more likely to take maternity leave than women not represented by a union.
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/10/unions-maternity-leave/574084/
Several news outlets reported on NUHW-represented Kaiser mental health workers authorizing a five-day strike:
https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2018/11/21/union-duels-with-kaiser-permanente-over-mental.html
https://thebusinessjournal.com/five-day-strike-set-for-kaiser-mental-health-workers/
https://www.timesheraldonline.com/2018/11/20/kaiser-mental-health-clinicians-authorize-five-day-strike/
http://www.sfexaminer.com/kaiser-mental-health-workers-authorize-five-day-strike/