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FL HCA health care workers ratify new labor pact [1]

['Mitch Perry', 'More From Author', '- July']

Date: 2023-07-07  

Members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East — considered the largest union of health care workers in Florida — have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new contract with HCA hospitals that the union says makes major progress in addressing the staffing, retention, and care crisis throughout the state.

The three-year contract will cover about 10,000 nurses, certified nursing assistants, technicians, dietary aides, and other health workers in 19 HCA facilities, according to a press release issued by the union dated June 28.

The Phoenix reported in May that staffers at some HCA hospitals in the Tampa Bay area claimed that staffing shortages in their facilities had created unsafe conditions for patients. Alma Hind, an environmental services staffer for nine years at HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville, said during a press conference on May 9 that conditions at her facility were not safe for patients.

“The sanitation isn’t there,” she said at the time. “We don’t have time to mop the halls. We don’t have a floor tech. These are the things that are going on, and they’re [management] finding it okay. I don’t find it okay. I’m worried about our patient care.”

The union says that to improve transparency and accountability, the new contract requires that hospital management provide a copy of the staffing matrix if requested, and not interfere with staff posting it inside the facility for all employees to see. Workers must be compensated when they are “called off” an understaffed shift, will receive significant increases in “on call” and “differential” pay, and be eligible for certification bonuses and other benefits.

“HCA is a giant corporation that can easily afford and should take proper care of its patients, staff, and Floridians. This new agreement is a significant step in alleviating the staffing, retention, and care crisis we’ve been experiencing in HCA hospitals throughout the state,” said Stephanie Shaw, vice president of 1199SEIU Florida. “While it doesn’t include everything our union proposed, it’s substantial progress in recruiting and especially retaining the experienced, talented staff who provide direct care and other critical services in communities across the state.”

Large provider

HCA Healthcare is the nation’s largest health care provider with 184 hospitals nationwide and 46 in Florida, the most of any state. The corporation reported revenues of more than $15 billion in just the first quarter of this year and combined revenues of more than $120 billion in 2021 and 2022.

“We are pleased to confirm that the agreements with 1199SEIU Florida have been ratified for the community hospitals involved in these negotiations,” a spokesperson for HCA emailed the Phoenix Friday afternoon. “Now that the negotiation process is complete, we are excited to move forward and want to thank all of our caregivers who are dedicated to providing compassionate care to the communities we serve.”

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[1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/07/07/fl-hca-health-care-workers-ratify-new-labor-pact/

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