Resurrection Health Care comes up short!

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:

• Resurrection's lowest-paid employees earn only $9 an hour, well below the federal poverty line for a family of four. Resurrection also caps wages for its patient-support staff with a "maximum rate" that prevents even loyal, long-term employees from reaching an income level that would allow a family to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
• The employee premium contribution for Resurrection's family health care coverage averages more than $230 per month, more than one-sixth the monthly take home pay of low-wage Resurrection workers. Copays and deductibles add greater costs for workers.
• In 2006, Resurrection Health Care CEO Joseph Toomey's total compensation was more than $1 million. Toomey took in more in just three hours than RHC's lowest-paid employees takes home in an entire month.
• Compensation for the top executive at each Resurrection hospital exceeded national medians for similar-sized hospitals in 2006 by 14% to 94%.
• RHC's top tier of management (90 individuals) earned a combined total of more than $26 million last year. If this amount were reduced by just 5%, all patient support staff could be paid an additional $105 per month.
• Of the $24 million dollars allocated for expansion of West Suburban Medical Center's emergency room, 54% is directed toward non-clinical improvements that will not directly benefit the quality of patient care.

"The low wages paid to these Resurrection workers are shameful, particularly when contrasted with the lavish salaries the company's top executives pay themselves," said Roberta Lynch, deputy director of AFSCME Council 31. "These are the workers who mop the floors, change the bedpans, and launder the sheets and Resurrection would simply grind to a halt without them. Yet some of these workers cannot even afford medical care at the very hospital at which they work."

"The best way to ensure fair pay is for Resurrection employees to be able to form their union," said Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO who joined AFSCME in releasing the report. "It's time for Resurrection management to honor the people whose hard work allows the hospitals to operate, and respect the workers' rights to organize a union."

"After more than ten years working in the laundry at Resurrection Medical Center, I earn only $9.60 per hour," said Araceli Romero. "Work in the laundry is very difficult. We stand all day untangling wet, heavy linens and throwing them into large bins. Many of my co-workers have had serious injuries to their shoulders, backs and wrists.

"While Resurrection brings in billions in revenue, many patient support employees can't make ends meet and we have to make horrible choices. I have one co-worker who had cancer, and sometimes she skips doctor checkups because she can't afford the co-pays," she said.

"These low wages are an embarrassment for a Catholic institution," added Father Larry Dowling, pastor of St. Agatha Church and a member of the Association of Chicago Priests. "Catholic Social Teaching is very clear about the need for employers to pay a living wage and to respect workers' rights to organize a union. As one of the largest Catholic employers in Chicago, Resurrection needs to lead by example."

Seeking to improve their working conditions and enhance the quality of patient care, Resurrection employees are working to form a union with AFSCME Council 31.

http://www.reformresurrection.org.