Nurses Back Wage Transparency Bill in DC Council
Tuesday, June 24, 2014(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
The more than 200 different wage rates “arbitrarily and unilaterally
decided by hospital managers,” at Providence Hospital underscore the necessity
for the Wage Transparency Amendment Act, RN Jowita Lyn testified at the DC
Council’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on Monday. Bill 20-757 would
work to address pay disparities based on gender, race and other unjustified
reasons, Lyn said, allowing workers “to shed some light on the pay gap between
men and women.” While the nurses, members of NNU, are currently in
negotiations with management including regarding the issue of wage disparities,
Lyn said that “In order to create firm and just standards in the workplace,
collective bargaining agreements that concretely address rates of pay – backed
up by laws with concrete enforcement mechanisms - are necessary to prevent pay
disparities due to gender, race, favoritism or other reasons.”