Suppression of Health Care Workers Rights
Frustrated with being overworked and underpaid, seven nurses at nonprofit healthcare provider ThedaCare, who has medical care facilities in northeast and central Wisconsin accepted positions at competitor Ascension Wisconsin. Instead of offering better pay and a more compatible work/life balance ThedaCare filed sued to prevent them from leaving.
This brings up a few questionsWhat benefit is it to have underpaid and unhappy employees? Why is it wrong for workers to capitalize on their skills? Why would ThedaCare spend money on legal processes that prevent their workers from moving than offering a better wage and benefit package?
The healthcare crisis created by the pandemic is no excuse to abuse workers or their rights. I guess “freedom to choose” only counts when the choice is to join a union not seek employment elsewhere.
“We understand and respect that people have choices in the current highly competitive job market. The decision by Ascension Wisconsin to hire away such a significant portion of ThedaCare’s interventional radiology specialty support team all at once, and at the height of a pandemic surge, will disrupt access to critical care for the people in our region. While we have tried to work with Ascension Wisconsin for additional time to execute a plan for staffing coverage that will provide the longterm continuation of services that support trauma, stroke and other essential areas of care, Ascension Wisconsin was unwilling to collaborate with us. We are essentially asking the Court to grant the injunction to maintain the status quo until ThedaCare can hire replacement staff for this vital department in order to protect access to the critical care services supported by the team, which are considered community assets.”
