We make the road by walking
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Makes Hennepin Healthcare Happen
AFSCME 2474 is a union of almost 900 frontline staff at Hennepin Healthcare, which includes Hennepin County Medical Center. We represent Medical Assistants, Mental Health Workers, Lab Assistants, Pharmacy Techs, Protection Officers, Nurse Licensed Practical, Social Workers, and many other job titles.
Our labor is at the heart of Hennepin Healthcare's public mission to provide outstanding care to everyone, regardless of social status. We use our intimate knowledge of work processes and everyday life in the healthcare system to advocate for patients and improve care.
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The public has a stake in Hennepin Healthcare
As a safety-net institution, Hennepin Healthcare is the backbone of community health and wellness.
In today's uncertain and (extremely) unequal world, Hennepin Healthcare's mission is more critical than ever.
Hennepin Healthcare's misallocation of funds and aggressive approach to labor relations puts at risk Minnesota's ability to sustain a robust health system that serves everybody with quality care.
Janus has arrived. We're ready.
We won't let CEO Jon Pryor of Hennepin Healthcare bust our public union - not without a fight.
When public employees suffer cuts, the public we serve loses.
If implemented, the severe cuts proposed by Dr. Pryor's administration would not only undo decades of established employer-union practice, and make it harder for Hennepin Healthcare workers to make ends meet - it will detract from quality of patient care and promote unsafe conditions.
Demanding huge takeaways from staff interferes with our mission by transferring resources from the front line - where patients receive care - into the pockets of wealthy administrators.
When public employees earn less than their counterparts in the private sector, it is difficult to recruit and retain quality staff. Turnover goes up. Morale goes down.
Ultimately, underpaying and understaffing hurts patient experience and disrupts Hennepin Healthcare's public mission.
Workplace violence
In 2017, there were 742 incidents of workplace violence and 359 assaults at Hennepin Healthcare. If incidents were fully reported, the number likely would be in the thousands. Patients and AFSCME 2474 members deserve a safe care environment - demoralizing cuts push us backwards.
Many veteran Mental Health Workers and Protection Officers have been physically assaulted repeatedly over the years. The emotional strain and exposure to bodily harm in performing our job duties contributes to high turnover and corresponding instability in the workforce, which further heightens risk and negatively impacts patient experience. Wage and benefit cuts add insult to injury.
CEO Jon Pryor makes more in three weeks than a full time Hennepin Healthcare worker earns in a year. When a multimillionaire (at public expense) demands thousands of dollars annually from the lowest paid staff, it's reasonable to ask: Is he cold-hearted, or naive about working-class life, or both?
Little wonder Hennepin Healthcare ranked worse than 93% of similar organizations in its recent employee survey. The principle finding: Staff don't have confidence in senior leadership.
