Kicked. Punched. Verbally Abused. Choked. Shoved.

These things should never be “all in a day’s work.”

For tens of thousands of USW members working in hospitals, nursing homes, emergency response, and similar workplaces, this is too often the reality. The rates of violence in health care workplaces is 12 times the rate of other sectors, and it is rising sharply. Health care workers suffer more workplace injuries than any other profession, with about 654,000 people harmed per year on the job.

This violence poses a wide threat to nurses, physicians, healthcare staff, patients, and visitors. It also drives up costs and undermines both the quality of care and patient outcomes. Ultimately, it impacts us all.

Here’s the good news: There are proven strategies to reduce violence, like appropriate staffing, trained security staff, and other protocols. This week, the U.S. House held a hearing on The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 1309), a bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) that would instruct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue much-needed standards.

There’s a saying that OSHA rules are written in blood. For too long, health care workers have paid the price of inaction. Please watch for ways you can get involved in the coming weeks.

Do you or someone you care about have a story about
violence in a health care setting? Let us know.

Sources: Press Release from U.S. Rep. Courtney, Congressman Courtney Introduces Legislation to Reduce Violence Against Health Care and Social Service Workers, February 21, 2019; U.S. Government Accountability Office, Additional Efforts Needed to Help Protect Health Care Workers from Workplace Violence...

Please click here to download your February edition of the District 2 NEWS! 

Local 1944 is looking for members to participate in The Ride to Conquer Cancer (or The Ride) in 2020, to help the cancer research in Canada. As every member will be affected at some point in their lives by cancer, directly or indirectly, Local 1944 believes that this cause is our cause.

There are 4 annual rides organized throughout Canada, 1 in each of the provinces that Local 1944 represents:

• Montreal,
• Toronto,
• Alberta,
• and British Columbia.

We already have a team in Alberta, the Steel on Wheels Team, for which we are looking to register more participants. If you want to join the team, please email us at [email protected]. 

Members living in another province and who are willing to participate in the Ride can contact us at [email protected]. Wherever you live, this will be a great opportunity to build strong relationships with other union activists through community action.

How you can participate

• By joining or creating a team
• Through the Virtual Rider Program
• By...