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.”