Burned out and traumatized from the pandemic, healthcare workers are leaving their profession in alarming numbers and not enough new workers are willing to join the healthcare workforce, leaving our state with a severe staffing and patient care crisis.

This summer, the 100,000 members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West confronted this crisis by winning a minimum wage for union and non-union healthcare workers in Los Angeles, Downey, Monterey Park, and Long Beach. 

Now we’re ready to win a $25/hour minimum wage for healthcare workers all across the state!

 

Why set a $25/hour healthcare worker minimum wage?

To retain current healthcare workers. 
For over two years, healthcare workers have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting themselves and their families at risk to save lives and care for others. Many have left the profession, and more are considering leaving soon. Raising the minimum wage will help retain workers.

To attract new healthcare workers.
Even before the pandemic, California faced a shortage of 500,000 healthcare workers. Now we are facing a full-blown crisis. By making sure healthcare jobs pay enough we can attract the workers we need to ensure the quality of care for our families doesn’t decline.

 

Who would be included in a $25/hour healthcare worker minimum wage?

 This minimum wage would apply to hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers statewide, including workers at public and private general acute hospitals, dialysis clinics, acute psychiatric hospitals, and hospital-owned or affiliated entities that provide or assist with direct patient care. 

Healthcare employers would be prohibited from outsourcing, subcontracting, or moving  jobs in order to evade paying workers this $25/hour minimum wage.