There will be no pay raises for the frontline staff at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Hospital, which is reporting a $25 million deficit entering the next fiscal year.
Three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases, and increased demand for care have put a strain on the hospital’s financial resources as it waits for federal funding. Hospital leadership already started taking pay cuts as of April 1.
“We are working hard to continue to provide the health care our state and communities need through these challenges and have put our best efforts into coming up with a balanced budget for fiscal year 2024,” said Chris Ramirez, spokesman for the UNM Health System in a statement.
“We have implemented a variety of initiatives to try to maintain our workforce through this process, including a decrease in pay for UNM Hospital leadership that went into effect April 1, 2023, and will continue throughout fiscal year 24," Ramirez added. Our FY24 budget does not include any pay decreases for frontline staff, but we are not able to include pay increases, given our current financial situation.
"Additionally, UNM Hospital leadership has reduced contract labor costs, not filled some vacant positions and continues to closely manage overtime costs,” Ramirez said.
Frontline workers are not happy about the decision.
“Care has gone down and our morale has gone down,” Gilberta Miera, the license and technical president of Union 1199 told KOB. “People are very frustrated. You’re getting penalized if you stay.”
Miera, a registered nurse at UNMH for 30 years, said local healthcare workers are ready to be rewarded for their loyalty and efforts.
“Everybody is ready to strike, calling me, saying, ‘Can we strike?'” Miera said.
It is unlawful for healthcare workers to strike, but Miera said the union could begin picketing to show its frustration.
“It’s health care. It’s a right to have good health care, and we’re not at that place,” she said.
Ramirez acknowledged the workers' frustration.
“We know this is not news anyone wants to hear,” his statement read. “As a public health system, we have an important and mandatory obligation to our community to be good stewards of public dollars and to continue delivering critical health care for New Mexicans. While these decisions are always difficult, UNM Hospital leaders strongly believe these moves are vital to honoring those important commitments.”