15,000 frontline workers at hospitals owned by HCA Healthcare hit the bargaining table in Florida and Nevada to demand end to chronic short-staffing at HCA
More than 3,000 HCA workers represented by SEIU are already in negotiations in California, as contract expirations approach for 22,000 HCA workers across the country
Las Vegas, NV – Nationwide contract negotiations at HCA Healthcare continue to ramp up as 15,000 nurses and other healthcare workers at HCA-owned hospitals in Florida and Nevada begin bargaining to negotiate new contracts. They are the latest to enter negotiations with America’s largest hospital corporation as contract expirations approach for 22,000 unionized HCA workers.
“Our number one priority is patient safety,” says Adrian Martinez, a Critical Care Registered Nurse at Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas and member of the SEIU 1107 Bargaining Team. “Bargaining is our chance to advocate for better conditions and safer staffing so that we can retain staff and have the resources we need to do our job.”
In Nevada, hundreds of 1107 members filled out bargaining surveys, expressing deep concerns about staffing and retention and its impact on patient care at their HCA hospitals.
In Nevada and Florida, contracts expire at nearly two dozen HCA-owned hospitals on March 31 and May 31, respectively. Workers are members of SEIU Nevada Local 1107 and 1199SEIU Florida – which are part of the nation’s largest healthcare workers union, SEIU Healthcare.
“If we were really heroes to HCA, they would treat us better and pay us better,” says Nicole Phang, a pharmacy buyer at HCA Woodmont Hospital in South Florida and member of 1199SEIU Florida, “We are joining together at the bargaining table to hold HCA accountable and ensure that executives do right by us, our patients, and our communities.”
As thousands more HCA workers hit the table, SEIU-UHW members in California continue to ramp up demonstrations at HCA-owned hospitals with major pickets scheduled for the coming weeks.
Negotiations come on the heels of shocking allegations of HCA cutting corners in Florida and a groundbreaking report, Care Crisis, linking HCA’s below-average staffing levels to declining standards of care.
According to Care Crisis, staffing levels at HCA-owned hospitals are 34% below the national average in Nevada, while HCA-owned hospitals in Florida are staffed 32% lower than the state average.
In January, hundreds of SEIU members from Nevada, Florida, California, Texas, and Kansas rallied at West Hills Hospital in Southern California, issuing a powerful call to action for safer staffing and better working conditions at HCA.
According to a national survey of more than 1,500 HCA nurses and other healthcare workers from SEIU, nearly 80 percent reported that short-staffing at their hospitals is jeopardizing patient care.
ABOUT SEIU HEALTHCARE
More than one million healthcare workers across hospitals, home care, and in nursing homes are united in SEIU, the nation’s largest union of healthcare workers. SEIU is an organization of nearly 2 million members united by a belief in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide. SEIU is dedicated to improving the lives of workers, families, and communities to create a more just and humane society.
For more information, visit: https://www.seiu.org