WAMC member actions win COVID pay incentives
Facing another major COVID surge while dealing with severe understaffing, NUHW members at West Anaheim Medical Center demanded better – and won.
Last month, nearly 100 members at WAMC called on management to “immediately reinstate and expand” a $7 per hour temporary pay raise that had been instituted during the July COVID surge. A delegation of about a dozen workers “Marched on the Boss” to deliver the petition on December 16.
Three weeks later, management announced its approval of temporary COVID-19 crisis and pandemic pay incentives for NUHW-represented hospital staff. Under Crisis Pay, respiratory care practitioners, LVNs, and medical imaging staff who take extra shifts will receive additional crisis pay up to $30 per hour. Under Pandemic Pay, staff assigned to COVID beds in Medical/Surgical Unit, DOU, ICU and ED units will receive additional compensation $8 to $10 per hour.
These new incentives ensure that workers are more fairly compensated during the height of the COVID-19 surge and help the hospital improve staffing levels.