UW Health nurses push for union amid health care system strain
UW Health nurses were sounding the alarm on working conditions before COVID-19 strained the health care system to the brink.
Cost-cutting measures implemented over the last five years have left them concerned about understaffing, overwhelming patient loads and high turnover rates — things they argue have a negative effect not only on nurses and hospital employees, but on patients, too. At their worst, they say, the changes create unsafe situations. And they say the COVID pandemic has elevated the problem to a crisis level.
Many nurses say a union is needed to address these challenges. UW Health administrators acknowledge there’s a problem — but they argue the 2011 state law known as Act 10 prevents unionization from being the answer.
Since 2019, nurses at UW Health have sought to form a union, with help from SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin. On Thursday morning, a group of nurses met with UW Health CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan and presented more than 1,500 cards signed by nurses showing their support for unionization.
Read more: https://captimes.com/news/government/uw-health-nurses-push-for-union-amid-health-care-system-strain/article_0fe0b6c0-19f0-5fdf-a0e7-d15cc7e8a372.html