The affordability crisis was hitting the employees at Jackson Memorial Hospital in South Florida especially hard. Some of them were struggling to pay for groceries and housing, so the members of Local 1363 (AFSCME Florida) knew it was time to negotiate a raise.
The workers sought a 4% raise to help ease the pressure of rising costs. Counteroffers from the hospital administration were just too low, so AFSCME members dug in for the fight.
They sent out flyers, rallied, signed a petition, partnered with other unions in the Jackson Health System, and showed up to testify about their personal financial struggles, said Elizabeth Segura, a medical secretary and a member of Local 1363.
“We held firmly together because we knew that when we fight, we fight hard and we win,” Segura said. “There is power in numbers.”
