Members of UE Local 150 participated in two back-to-back actions in January to demand North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) use the lapsed-salary fund of $386 million to improve pay for workers.
On January 13, Local 150 members attended the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee meeting where state representatives and senate members gathered. Before the meeting, the local hosted a press conference in front of the legislative building to draw attention to their demands. During the meeting, local leaders delivered over 650 petition signatures to their elected officials. The petition includes demands for an immediate $3,000 bonus, a temporary ten percent bonus, the creation of a Safe Staffing Task Force, and a minimum wage of $25 per hour.
“We are here today because hundreds of healthcare workers are upset that we have not received a raise this year, and yet DHHS is sitting on $386 million worth of lapsed salary funds. This is not acceptable,” said William Young, Local 150 vice president and worker at Cherry Hospital.
Two days later, on January 15, Local 150 members met with DHHS Secretary Devutta Sangvai, Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities (DSOHF) Director Nikki Ashmont, and other DHHS officials. The UE members delivered the petition in person and gave the officials several proposals. The proposals included more communication between local leadership and the DSOHF director, the bonuses and other demands detailed in the petition, improved training and workplace safety for workers, and a grievance procedure.
At the meeting with DHHS officials, Local 150 member Peggy Briggins, who serves as chair for the DHHS committee within the local, said, “We need a raise to $25 per hour minimum and 20 percent for all DHHS workers. There is no reason a state employee should work a second job. We are losing people to private facilities and factories because they are paid better than us.”
Sekia Royall, a member of Local 150 and state worker for DHHS in Goldsboro also spoke at the meeting and said, “Workers are frustrated. We keep getting the end of the stick. We do not have a state budget, and state workers have not received any raise this year. That is why we can’t keep people.”