North Alabama's Unions Express Concern About Huntsville Hospital Merger
The North Alabama Area Labor Council (NAALC), AFL-CIO is the regional federation of unions in North Alabama. Affiliate unions represent rocket scientists, iron workers, and everything in between.
The following statement can be attributed to Jacob Morrison, President of the NAALC:
Huntsville Hospital’s announcement that they are purchasing Crestwood - the only other hospital in the Huntsville metro area - should concern patients, residents, and workers.
Nationally, we have seen a trend in corporate consolidation and this trend has not benefited working people or consumers. In New Orleans, for example, consolidation of healthcare providers and the decline of competition that has followed has allowed the near-monopolies to increase costs substantially. National Nurses United - the nation’s largest nurses union, and the union that nurses in New Orleans are organized with - have put out a detailed report demonstrating this connection. In 2015, when the now dominant LCMC Health only had 25% of the market share, their charge-to-cost ratio was actually lower than most other hospitals in the region. Now that they own 57% of the market share (and their only competitor owns 41% - meaning the top two healthcare providers own 98% of the market share) - LCMC Health’s charge-to-cost ratio significantly outstrips the regional average, now charging an average of $576 for every $100 in costs (some of their hospitals charge $829 for every $100 in costs!). What will happen in Huntsville when one provider owns 100% of the market?
Workers now at Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood should be concerned as well. Crestwood pays their workers more than Huntsville Hospital - management will obviously want to change that. Similarly, Huntsville Hospital already pays their workers much too little, but their stinginess was no doubt tempered to some degree by the fact that right down the road nurses could go work for higher pay. When this check on Huntsville Hospital is removed, what will happen to the already low pay of nurses inside Huntsville Hospital?
Federal and state regulators could put a stop to this if they desired. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could challenge the acquisition and give the public more visibility into the effects it would have. The Alabama Attorney General’s Office could also challenge the deal. If they didn’t want to challenge the acquisition, they could ensure that workers, patients, and the community had an iron clad and public commitment from Huntsville Hospital to neither raise prices nor lower wages.
Unfortunately, we do not have much confidence in the interest of these agencies to check corporate power.
Therefore, the task is left to the workers. Nurses in New Orleans and all over the country are organizing with National Nurses United (NNU) and other nurse unions to challenge corporate greed, fight for better pay, safer staffing levels, and commitments to the community. NNU isn't just fighting either - they're winning. In contract after contract, union nurses are securing higher wages, safe staffing commitments, and stronger safety protocols. If workers at Huntsville Hospital are concerned about the effects that this acquisition could have on their working conditions and their patient’s healing conditions, then they must organize. The unions of North Alabama stand ready to help them, and we can be reached at contact@northalabamalabor.org