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All posts tagged with “General News | Labor & Employment News.”



As deficit estimate hits $68 billion, Newsom seeks ‘major changes’ to healthcare wage law

12/10/23 at 04:00 AM

As deficit estimate hits $68 billion, Newsom seeks ‘major changes’ to healthcare wage lawLos Angeles TimesDecember 7, 2023With California facing an expected $68-billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking “major reforms” to pull funding from a costly plan next year to begin raising the statewide minimum wage for healthcare workers to $25 an hour. ... It’s unclear whether Newsom is suggesting he would like to narrow the higher minimum wage to fewer workers, or whether he’s seeking to delay or pause implementation of the increase.

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Ascension nurses begin strikes

12/09/23 at 03:14 AM

Ascension nurses begin strikesBecker’s Hospital ReviewDecember 7, 2023Nurses at three Ascension hospitals in Texas and Kansas began one-day strikes Dec. 6, marking the second strikes for each hospital this year. The strikes involve members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, an affiliate of National Nurses United. ... Union members have been in contract negotiations at the two Wichita hospitals since February 2023 and at the 391-bed Austin hospital since November 2022. They are striking to call attention to equipment and staffing issues at their organizations, according to NNU. ... “Patient safety is our top priority, and our hospitals remain open and well-prepared to continue to provide patient-centered, holistic care during these strikes,” an Ascension spokesperson told Becker’s on Dec. 6.

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Mass. lawmakers approve measure allowing more home health care workers to unionize

12/09/23 at 03:05 AM

Mass. lawmakers approve measure allowing more home health care workers to unionizeWBUR-FM (Boston, MA)December 7, 2023Thousands of home health care workers in Massachusetts are newly eligible to organize and join a union under legislation passed by the state legislature this week. Union officials estimate the change will allow some 4,000 home health care workers to unionize. About 58,000 personal care attendants paid by MassHealth are already unionized and represented by SEIU 1199. 

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Bipartisan Legislation Aims to Block CMS Staffing Proposal—Most Recently With Senate Bill

12/08/23 at 04:00 AM

Bipartisan Legislation Aims to Block CMS Staffing Proposal—Most Recently With Senate BillSkilled Nursing NewsDecember 6, 2023Legislation to block the nursing home minimum staffing proposal gained major traction this week, as a bill introduced on the Senate floor late Tuesday received more bipartisan support. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) led the way with the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act, which aims to stop the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from finalizing the minimum staffing proposal—along with requiring that a nursing home workforce advisory panel be created. The Senate bill is endorsed by more than 90 organizations, according to Fischer’s office. 

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A nursing reboot—Jobs are on the rise in Florida

12/06/23 at 04:00 AM

A nursing reboot—Jobs are on the rise in FloridaTampa Bay Times/Florida TrendNovember 29, 2023All the (nursing shortage) churn resulted in the highest vacancy and turnover rates for hospital RNs ever recorded by the Florida Hospital Association, which tracks such data. Three years later, there are signs of a rebound. Vacancy rates for hospital RNs have dropped from 21% in 2022 to 13% in 2023, and turnover dropped from 32% to 20% over the same period.

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Bitter strike over as nurses, N.J. hospital reach tentative agreement

12/06/23 at 04:00 AM

Bitter strike over as nurses, N.J. hospital reach tentative agreementNewark (NJ) Star-LedgerDecember 2, 2023The nurses strike that lasted more than 120 days has finally ended. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital announced Friday that it has tentatively reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Steel Workers 4-200, which represents the 1,700 nurses who went on strike Aug. 4.

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Why Doctors and Pharmacists Are in Revolt

12/05/23 at 03:45 AM

Why Doctors and Pharmacists Are in RevoltNew York TimesDecember 3, 2023... And doctors are not the only health professionals who are unionizing or protesting in greater numbers. Health care workers, many of them nurses, held eight major work stoppages last year—the most in a decade—and are on pace to match or exceed that number this year. This fall, dozens of nonunion pharmacists at CVS and Walgreens stores called in sick or walked off the job to protest understaffing, many for a full day or more.

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Connecticut’s nursing shortage is all about pay rates

12/03/23 at 04:00 AM

Connecticut’s nursing shortage is all about pay ratesBy Latoya Hall, RN, and Heather Massicotte, RNCT MirrorDecember 1, 2023Like many other states across the United States, Connecticut is grappling with a severe shortage of nurses. Personally, we have both seen nurses leaving the bedside at alarming rates to find jobs in other states and even outside of healthcare. We are not alone in this observation. As dedicated healthcare professionals, we are proud to provide essential care to patients, but the financial strain is undeniable.[Editor’s Note: Both authors are candidates in the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Family Nurse Practitioner program at Sacred Heart University’s College of Nursing, Fairfield, CT.]

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‘Plain old greed’—HCA nurses rally to denounce understaffing, unsafe conditions at hospitals

12/03/23 at 04:00 AM

‘Plain old greed’—HCA nurses rally to denounce understaffing, unsafe conditions at hospitalsFlorida PhoenixNovember 30, 2023Judy Preuss, an ICU nurse at HCA Florida Oak Hill Hospital, joined the National Nurses Organizing Committee 13 years ago for the same reason she rallied Thursday afternoon in Tampa with colleagues from other parts of the country: Bargaining to fix understaffing. Oak Hill Hospital, where Preuss has worked for 18 years, is one of HCA Healthcare’s 46 hospitals in Florida. The nurses from the union representing 10,000 registered nurses across the U.S. held a rally at the HCA West Florida Division Office in Tampa.

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Hospice Clinician Wages Rising at Slower Rate; Turnover Falling

12/03/23 at 04:00 AM

Hospice Clinician Wages Rising at Slower Rate; Turnover FallingHospice NewsDecember 1, 2023Wages for hospice clinicians continue to go up amid widespread staff shortages, but they grew at a slower rate in 2023 compared to the prior year. The national average hourly rate for Hospice registered nurses rose 4.58% in 2023, down from a 5.95% increase in 2022, according to a new report by the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service in cooperation with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. Meanwhile, turnover rates declined in 2023, representing the first drop in several years, the report indicated.

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Together, New England College and hospitals aim to tackle nursing vacancies

12/03/23 at 04:00 AM

Together, New England College and hospitals aim to tackle nursing vacanciesNew Hampshire BulletinDecember 1, 2023The state’s health care industry had to get creative after the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing workforce shortages, doubling the vacancy rate for nurses and LNAs between 2019 and 2022, according to the New Hampshire Hospital Association. Employers offered generous signing bonuses and paid training. The state made it easier for out-of-state practitioners to get a New Hampshire license. A team of health care leaders developed 107 strategies to recruit and retain workers.

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Salary increases, bonuses help to address nurse staffing challenges, hospice survey finds

12/02/23 at 04:00 AM

Salary increases, bonuses help to address nurse staffing challenges, hospice survey finds

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Still more Ohio CVS pharmacies accused of staffing-related problems

12/02/23 at 04:00 AM

Still more Ohio CVS pharmacies accused of staffing-related problems

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Lawmaker proposes funds for Tampa General Hospital to build employee apartments

12/01/23 at 04:00 AM

Lawmaker proposes funds for Tampa General Hospital to build employee apartments

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