ANAHEIM, Calif., Sept. 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Late last night, workers and management at KPC Health reached a tentative agreement, allowing workers to call off an impending five-day strike scheduled to begin Monday, September 26 at 6am. The new agreement significantly raises wages at six KPC facilities across Orange County and the Inland Empire, addressing workers’ concerns about chronic short staffing and high turnover.
“We’ve had such a hard time keeping good healthcare workers at our hospital. New employees come in, but between the tough, risky workload and the low pay, they quickly move on to better paying jobs, sometimes in a matter of weeks,” said Mychelle Ramey, a Respiratory Therapist at South Coast Global Medical Center. “With this new agreement, we have a better shot of attracting and retaining good caregivers here, which means better, safer care for our patients and our community.”
The tentative agreement applies to a variety of job classes across six facilities, including respiratory therapists, licensed vocational nurses, certified nursing assistants, radiology technologists, food service workers, operating room and emergency room technicians, unit secretaries, transporters, and admitting clerks. Affected KPC facilities include Victor Valley Global Medical Center in Victorville, Anaheim Global Medical Center, Chapman Global Medical Center, South Coast Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, Hemet Global Medical Center, and Menifee Valley Medical Center.
KPC Health Inc. is a for-profit, nationwide healthcare chain. More than 1,400 KPC Health Inc. employees are members of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), and their contract with the hospital expired July 13, 2022.
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SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers. Learn more at www.seiu-uhw.org.
