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City officials address progress in improving wages, working conditions in Pittsburgh hospitals

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh City Council Member Rev. Ricky Burgess and members of the Wage Review Committee met Tuesday to review progress in improving wages and working conditions at Pittsburgh hospitals.

Burgess and the Wage Review Committee were joined by hospital workers for a news conference, during which a progress report was presented.

“Workers came who worked every day at the hospital and couldn’t afford hospital coverage for their own children, couldn’t afford the hospitals they worked in. That was heartbreaking for me, and we’re working to make that the difference,” Burgess said.

While there is still work to be done, the newly released report indicates that good progress is being made in increasing pay and quality of life.

“Our new contract is lifting up hundreds of Pittsburgh hospital workers and, because of our bargaining, the average starting wage at AGH will be over $15 by the end of this year,” Virginia, an EKG technician at Allegheny General Hospital, said.

On the heels of the new deal, other hospitals have also agreed to increase minimum wage to $15 an hour. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s increase will be in place by 2021.

“They’re going to put it into groceries, put it into their kids and the local economy,” Jeff Shook, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh and member of the Wage Review Committee, said.

Shook said there’s a trickle-down effect with wage increases that will have a positive impact on the city of Pittsburgh.

“We know when kids don’t have that stable, strong family, which wages and jobs are a part of, that the outcomes are not what we want to have,” Shook said. “If we do spread the wealth, spread the money a little more, give families an opportunity to meet their needs, I think we will see better outcomes overall.”