Higher Pay
SEIU is committed to setting proper standards of living – in the
form of pay and benefits – for health care workers so they can remain committed
to the delivery of quality patient care.
On average, union health care workers earn more than
non-union workers. Our contracts typically include guaranteed annual raises, pay
steps that reward experience and length of service, higher shift differentials,
certification and specialty bonuses, and other premium pay.
Here are some of the financial benefits of being a union member:
Above-market salaries.
Unionized nurses consistently
negotiate above-market pay scales. In fact, according to the Bureau of National
Affairs, nurses who are union members earn an average 13% more than nurses who
aren’t. And hospital employees who are union members earn between 13% and 37%
more than those who aren’t.
Raises you can count on.
One of the advantages to a union
contract is that raises are guaranteed in writing. Union-negotiated raises are
not tied to arbitrary and subjective evaluations. Many union contracts call for
both annual cost-of-living raises and merit pay increases and guarantee that
even employees who are at the top of the scale receive a raise every year.
A pay scale that rewards experience and
longevity.
Union-negotiated pay scales eliminate arbitrary
disparities and inequities; everyone is covered by the same set of pay steps and
criteria for advancement. Most union contracts call for step increases and/or
longevity bonuses in addition to regular annual raises to ensure that staff is
fairly compensated for experience and length of service.
More compensation for around-the-clock care.
On their
own, hospital administrators rarely increase the differentials or premiums paid
for evening or weekend work or pay for stand-by status. With a union, nurses and
hospital employees negotiate improvements in shift differentials, on-call pay,
and other compensation for “around-the-clock” care.
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