Nurses, Physicians And Other Healthcare Professionals Demand Safer And Healthier Workplaces

WHEREAS, the healthcare industry is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States, with nonfatal injury rates surpassing those for construction and manufacturing. Healthcare workers face multiple physical hazards regularly, including workplace violence, ergonomic injuries, infectious disease, and exposure to hazardous chemicals, stress and fatigue; and

WHEREAS, threats and assaults against healthcare workers have been rising steadily for many years in parallel with the rise in inadequate staffing. Between 2007 and 2022, the rate of injuries from workplace violence rose 181 percent in private hospitals, 143 percent in psychiatric and substance use facilities, and 50 percent in home health agencies. One study found that nurses and patient care aides experience physical or verbal aggression at least once every 40 hours worked. Behind these statistics are many healthcare workers who have suffered career-ending injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Dozens of healthcare workers are murdered at work each year, including the murder of AFT and Washington State Nurses Association member Douglas Brant, R.N., in 2022; and

WHEREAS, nurses, physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, technicians, environmental service staff and other healthcare workers bore the brunt of their employers’ lack of preparation for the COVID-19 pandemic. They were denied appropriate respiratory protection and forced to return to work while sick. Many now face debilitating health problems due to long COVID; and

WHEREAS, many healthcare workers fear assault from a patient or visitor every time they go to work. Their lawful right to a workplace free from hazards likely to cause death or serious harm has been violated again and again. They have been told that workplace violence is part of the job and discouraged from pressing charges against patients who assault them. Their dedication, professionalism and hard work have been exploited. They have been treated as though they are expendable by the healthcare system; and

WHEREAS, although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has encouraged employers to develop comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs since 1996, many employers have failed to address safety concerns and skimp on employee training:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will advance changes in the culture of the healthcare industry, supporting members and leaders who demand:

• Safer, healthier workplaces for the safety and well-being of healthcare workers and their patients;
• Management accountability for ensuring that workplace violence is not treated as a part of the job and that healthcare workers are not treated as expendable; and
• A genuine voice for healthcare workers in the policies that impact them; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will work for meaningful and enforceable workplace violence protections in laws, standards and collective bargaining agreements for healthcare workers through the Code Red campaign at the local, state and federal levels; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will continue to lead federal efforts to pass the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, which would compel the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a federal workplace violence prevention standard within one year, as well as working directly with OSHA to bring members’ voices to rulemaking; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will mobilize the Code Red campaign to provide support to affiliates’ state legislative efforts through research, legislative language, analysis and opportunities for affiliates to support one another; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will assist locals to bargain for stronger contract requirements and effective labor-management safety committees, providing resources for collective bargaining and capacity-building training.