CULVER CITY, Calif. –  On Monday night, the Culver City Council voted to adopt an ordinance requiring healthcare employers to provide premium hazard pay for hospital workers. The ordinance passed by a 3 to 2 vote.

“During this pandemic, Culver City hospital workers put themselves and their families at increased risk every day to care for patients with COVID-19. We dealt with dangerous working conditions such as not enough masks for all staff or being asked to re-use masks or other PPE,” said La Rhonda Smith, a speech therapist at Southern California Hospital at Culver City. “This ordinance shows that the Culver City Council recognizes the incredible sacrifices we have made.”

The ordinance requires hospital employers to provide $5.00 per hour in addition their current rate for 120 days. The ordinance would affect approximately 1,000 healthcare workers in Culver City, including, but not limited to, clinicians, nurses, aides, technicians, janitorial and housekeeping staff, security guards, food services workers, laundry workers, pharmacists, and nonmanagerial administrative staff.

“By requiring hazard pay for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Culver City Council aims to protect the health and welfare of frontline healthcare workers, their families, and the community,” said Culver City Vice Mayor Daniel Lee.  “This ordinance also recognizes and compensates hospital workers for the risks and burdens they face every day, and it promotes job retention by ensuring they’re compensated for the substantial risks, and efforts they are undertaking to keep our city safe.”

Media Contact: Renée Saldaña, [email protected] 

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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.