ThedaCare employees call for better wages at a news conference outside the healthcare facility in Appleton, August 29, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Community leaders and hospital workers at ThedaCare in Appleton are calling for better working conditions.
ThedaCare employees represented by the Service and Employees International Union (SEIU) Wisconsin say they want hospital management to negotiate contract agreements, offering higher wages.
They spoke out in front of ThedaCare Regional Medical Center in Appleton Tuesday.
President of SEIU Wisconsin, Pat Raes, says $14 an hour is not a livable wage.
“We have seen many ThedaCare staff leaving to go to better paying positions across town rather than fight to keep the experienced workers or offer better pay and benefits to retain trained, experienced staff. ThedaCare would rather sue the staff leaving or try and hire new staff which costs them thousands of dollars to train each person,” she said.
Raes says low wages creates staffing shortages, which adds stress on current employees.
ThedaCare responded with the following statement:
ThedaCare is committed to putting patients first, providing high-quality care, and enhancing the experience for our patients and caregivers. As such, we have and continue to bargain in good faith with SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin who represents 67 team members at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton (or 1% of all ThedaCare). Our recent negotiations are centered on wages only, as a wage re-opener, not a complete contract renegotiation.
ThedaCare has presented to SEIU an across-the-board wage offer and additional wage increases for market adjustments. SEIU has yet to present ThedaCare’s offer to our team members represented by this group. We believe these team members should have the opportunity to vote on, and benefit from, the solid wage package we have offered.
As a not-for-profit health system, ThedaCare’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve. Our more than 6,000-member team works together to care for the people in this region and are committed to continuing to deliver a safe healing environment for current and future patients.
According to SEIU, as of Aug. 21, the average hourly wage for non-nursing employees in a hospital in Wisconsin is about $20 per hour. In 2019, the average hourly wage for the same group of people was $13.48.
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