News of the Month — October 2023
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The historic settlement agreement that commits Kaiser to fix systemic failures in its behavioral healthcare system was widely reported throughout the state. Articles appeared in many publications, including CalMatters, Capital and Main, CBS, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, DailyKos and Becker’s Hospital Review.
Our candidate forum for U.S. Senate generated a lot of news coverage, including stories in the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call and Politico.
Following the forum, which was held during our annual Leadership Conference in Los Angeles, NUHW members voted to endorse Congresswoman Katie Porter. The endorsement was covered in Politico and other news outlets.
San Diego’s CBS8, ABC10, KUSI, and KPBS covered the 3-day strike by NUHW members at Kindred Hospital over low wage proposals for 20 pharmacists and lab workers bargaining their first union contract. The work stoppage comes as Kindred insists on limiting wage increases to as little as 2 percent per year for the workers who unionized in February, despite the hospital agreeing to a contract with at least 100 other NUHW members in May that raised salaries by an average of 26 percent.
The Sacramento Bee reports that California will raise the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 per hour over the next decade under a new law signed by Gov. Newsom. Healthcare facilities with more than 10,000 full-time employees would introduce a $23-per-hour minimum wage starting June 1, 2024 followed by $1 increases each year until $25 an hour is reached by mid-2026. Hospitals that are largely government-funded, as well as those in small or rural areas, would introduce an $18-per-hour minimum wage in 2024. Over nine years, the wage would then increase 3.5% annually until it reached $25 an hour in 2033. Community clinics would follow a schedule of $21 an hour in 2024, $22 an hour in 2026 and $25 an hour in 2027. All other covered health facilities would see the minimum wage phased over five years — $21 an hour in 2024, $23 in 2026 and $25 in 2028.
NUHW is featured in a story by the Press Democrat about Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital diverting surgery patients to other facilities and postponing elective procedures due to concerns over the water used in sterilizing instruments. “While Providence hasn’t informed us what caused this problem, we know that the company continues to profit while failing to adequately invest in the physical upkeep of the hospital and the staffing necessary to provide the best care for patients in Sonoma County,” NUHW President Sal Rosselli said about the situation.
In a Bay Area Reporter op-ed, NUHW President Sal Rosselli praised Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s handling of the AIDS Epidemic during her tenure as mayor of San Francisco.
NUHW is included in a San Francisco Standard story about the race for Democratic County Central Committee—set for March 2024. THE DCCC’s responsibilities include registering voters, chartering Democratic clubs and passing resolutions that can help articulate the local party’s values. “I feel it’s very important that the Democratic Party’s endorsements and influence reflects its solidarity with organized labor and working families,” said NUHW President Sal Rosselli, who is one of the candidates for the board.