Letter to the editor: UPMC workers need better wages, better treatment

I’m a housekeeper at UPMC Presbyterian. It’s a backbreaking job. I’m in my 60s and spend my days lifting bags full of wet garbage and linens.

I’ve been here 10 years, and I’m only paid $16.16 an hour. Meanwhile, the staffing crisis means UPMC expects us to do three times more work for no extra pay. It’s unreasonable and disrespectful. We’re all exhausted.

UPMC says it takes care of its workers, but for nearly two years we’ve worked through the pandemic and haven’t seen an extra cent. Now UPMC is insulting us with a $500 one-time check. What we need is a $20-an-hour starting rate. We need a free and fair path to form a union so we can have a voice.

Housekeepers — and all UPMC workers — are essential to making our hospitals function. We’re essential to making Pittsburgh function. And when we need to work overtime just to make ends meet, we don’t have time to spend with our families or at church or organizing for a new bus route. We don’t have time to be people.

Clearly, UPMC doesn’t want us to have a union. They know we’re fed up. They know we’ll demand higher wages and better treatment. And they’re right. It’s time to stand up to powerful health care companies like UPMC.

Nora Kelly

Brookline