Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) issued a new report documenting low wage levels that keep patient support staff at Resurrection Health Care hospitals mired in poverty and unable to support their families.
Resurrection Health Care (RHC) is the second largest non- profit hospital system in the Chicago metropolitan area. It encompasses eight hospitals, as well as nursing homes, home health services, and outpatient clinics.
Entitled Coming Up Short: Resurrection Health Care's Distorted Pay Priorities, the report depicts a starkly skewed pay structure in which the compensation of RHC hospital executives significantly exceeds national norms while the meager wages of patient-support staff (housekeepers, laundry and food service workers) fall far short of self-sufficiency standards in the Chicago area.
The new report was sparked by an employee petition drive pressing for wage increases for patient-support staff which Resurrection management sought to stifle. The National Labor Relations Board Regional Office has recently indicated that it will issue a formal complaint against Resurrection for allegedly violating federal labor laws by interrogating an employee who was circulating the petition and interfering with her rights.
The report also documents tens of millions of dollars spent on cosmetic remodeling projects at Resurrection hospitals that could be used to help raise patient-support workers out of poverty.
Findings from the report include the following: