FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
February 7, 2023

LYNWOOD, Calif. –  The Lynwood City Council has voted in favor of a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers in the city. The new minimum wage would cover all private sector healthcare workers in hospitals, integrated health systems, and dialysis clinics in Lynwood.

“With this vote, the Lynwood City Council showed that momentum and support keep growing for a $25 healthcare worker minimum wage,” said Dave Regan, president of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West. “We commend the Lynwood City Council for ensuring healthcare workers earn a fair wage that reflects their life-saving work and for taking steps to confront the staffing crisis in California’s healthcare system.”

Multiple cities in Southern California have passed a fair wage ordinance for healthcare workers, including Los Angeles, Downey, and Long Beach. In November 2022, Inglewood voters passed Measure HC, raising wages to $25 for healthcare workers at private facilities in that city.

“Even before the pandemic, we were short-staffed with intense workloads. Now, many of my co-workers are struggling to make ends meet and are considering leaving for jobs that offer higher pay with fewer health risks,” said Mayra Castaneda, an ultrasound technologist at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood. “A $25 minimum wage will keep experienced healthcare workers in Lynwood hospitals and help recruit new ones to our community.”

A survey of over 30,000 SEIU-UHW members, Crisis in Care, highlighted the short-staffing crisis in California, with 83% of responding healthcare workers saying their facility is understaffed. At the same time, healthcare corporations are reporting record profits.

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Media Contact:
Renée Saldaña, [email protected]

 SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) is a healthcare justice union of more than 100,000 healthcare workers, patients, and healthcare activists united to ensure affordable, accessible, high-quality care for all Californians, provided by valued and respected healthcare workers