To: North Carolina State and Federal Elected Officials, NC Labor Commissioner, and NC Department of Health and Human Services including Division of Health Service Regulation, Adult Care Licensure Section, and Nursing Home Licensure Certification Section.

From: Healthcare Workers, Patients, Residents, and Community

There is a crisis in the healthcare industry, which has only worsened during this pandemic. Low wages, understaffing, and unsafe working conditions are hurting workers, patients, residents, and our entire community. The time to act is now. Care workers deserve higher pay, better benefits, and the choice to form and join a union.

Together, North Carolina healthcare workers across industries—along with patients, residents, and community supporters—call on the aforementioned officials to immediately enact the following:
 

1. Safe Staffing Levels.

• Understaffing is a widespread problem across the care industry. Care workers must have a seat at the table in determining what constitutes safe staffing levels in their workplace. When workers have a voice in decisions about staffing, it ensures safer conditions for workers and patients.
• Set staff to patient ratios to include no more than:
  • 1 to 10 - Assisted Care
  • 1 to 7 - Total Care
  • 1 to 3 - ICU & Emergency
  • 1 to 2 - Psych Total Care

2. Higher wages and benefits for care workers.

• Significantly raise wages of all workers, with no worker earning less than $15 per hour, including a consistent schedule for wage increases.
• Provide benefits including affordable family healthcare, paid sick leave, paid vacation leave, paid mental health days, minimum 4 month paid maternity/paternity leave, retirement account with employer contributions, paid federal holidays, and access to mental health services.
• North Carolina received federal funds through the American Rescue Plan. We call on state officials to allocate these funds to raise wages and benefits for care workers who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic providing skilled, compassionate care.

3. Safer Working Conditions for care workers.

• Complete and high quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including PAPR units, for ALL workers coming into contact with COVID and other high risk patients and rooms (Housekeepers included).
• Sufficient, appropriate equipment based on weight and risk level of patient including but not limited to: lifts, one vital sign kit per patient room, and shower beds and chairs. All equipment should be repaired and replaced as needed and all workers should be trained in equipments' proper use.
• Accurate mobility and dependency evaluations completed for all patients or residents. Work assignments to be based on these evaluations such that neither workers nor their patients are at risk.

4. Invest in care work as essential infrastructure by passing the American Jobs Plan, which includes a $400 billion investment to create good union care jobs.  It's time to put care workers at the center of our nation's economic recovery. We're calling on Congress to pass the American Jobs Plan, which will:

• Ensure quality, affordable home care for all through significant investments in Medicaid funding.
• Provide healthcare and paid sick leave for all workers.
• Make it easier to form and join a union so we can raise standards for those who receive care and those who provide it.
• Pay care workers at least $15 per hour.