Healthcare workers represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West rallied in Los Angeles on Friday, seeking a statewide minimum wage increase to $25 an hour in California, according to a Sept. 9 report from the Los Angeles Daily News.
The workers say momentum is building after the city councils of Los Angeles, Downey, Monterey Park, and Long Beach passed ordinances establishing a $25 minimum wage. However, they say those pay hikes may exclude many healthcare employees.
Cities that approved the $25 minimum wage increase gained negative attention due to the increase applying to employees in private hospitals, integrated health systems, and dialysis clinics but excluding employees in public hospitals and healthcare clinics.
The SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West conducted a survey of more than 30,000 members in May 2022. The survey indicated a staffing crisis in California, with 83 percent of respondents reporting that their facility is understaffed and 20 percent saying they have considered leaving the medical field in the past year.
In July 2022, Los Angeles became the first Southern California city to approve a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers.