Workers face difficult battle in U.S. hospitals battered by recession

The February edition of the U.S. Labour Notes reports staff in U.S. hospitals face further reorganization, more work, less training and employers trying to extract concessions in bargaining. Michigan critical care nurse Shawn Shuler told the magazine that squeezing workers makes little sense – patient complications that develop when overworked staff miss a problem cost the hospital more than a proper staffing policy would. Shuler’s employer, The Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, has lost 52 critical care nurses in the last year.  In Philadelphia, Temple University Health System tried to gag workers from speaking out. They unsuccessfully sought to fine the union $250,000 if a worker spoke out about hospital conditions. Temple has demanded a non-disparagement clause in bargaining, along with wage freezes and a 50 per cent cut to pensions. The magazine reports a strike is inevitable.