Care Givers Will Rally in Pasadena Thursday, Call on Legislators to Pass Statewide $25 Minimum Wage for Healthcare Workers

County caregivers will stage a demonstration outside a Pasadena medical clinic Thursday in support of a proposed state law that would establish a statewide $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers.

Essential workers — including hospital janitorial staff, security officers, medical assistants, resident physicians, and nursing home caregivers — from community clinics across the county will rally at 11 a.m. outside ChapCare, a medical clinic at 1855 N Fair Oaks Ave.

The bill, SB 525, is sponsored by state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles). It would require all healthcare facilities in California to raise pay for their employees to a minimum wage of $25 per hour by 2025.

Supporters of the bill say it is necessary to address the growing shortage of healthcare workers in the state. They say that low wages are a major reason why many healthcare workers are leaving the field or choosing to work part-time.

“Healthcare workers are the backbone of our healthcare system, and they deserve to be paid a fair wage,” said Durazo. “This bill would help to ensure that our healthcare workers are able to make a living wage and provide the quality care that our patients deserve.”

Many caregivers say workers of color and women workers form the backbone of the U.S. healthcare system and are disproportionately underpaid and devalued.

“Healthcare workers are overworked and facing a crisis every time we sit down to pay our bills. We’ve been squeezed to the bone; our bosses keep wages so low we are barely scraping by and prices of everything we need keep going up,” said Gary Poe, an Outreach Coordinator at St. John’s Community Health. “Meanwhile, they keep us so short staffed we come home exhausted doing the work of two or three people. It’s patients who pay the price because there are too few healthcare workers to deliver the care Californians deserve.”

Opponents of the bill say it would be too costly for healthcare providers and would lead to higher healthcare costs for patients.

The rally could draw dozens of healthcare workers from across the County. The workers will be calling on state legislators to pass SB 525 and to invest in the healthcare workforce.

California healthcare workers are participating in similar actions throughout the state this week