Workers at Ascension Health need your help!
Dear Friend of Justice,
Healthcare workers in Michigan--and across the country--need our support!
In his recent Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly speaks of the "grave dangers for the rights of workers" that today imperil so many of our friends and neighbors who struggle daily to provide security for their families. It is imperative that people of faith stand with those workers hoping to secure wages and benefits consistent with their dignity as children of God.
Ascension Health is the nation's largest Catholic and non-profit health system, comprised of 37 health systems or centers in 20 states, totaling over 570 hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers, labs, and other facilities. The employees of Genesys Health System, a member of Ascension Health, provide health care services in the Flint, Michigan area.
The management of Genesys is proposing severe wage, benefit, and pension cuts for several hundred of its employees. These healthcare workers are men and women committed to serving the health and welfare of the members of their communities.
On Friday, March 12, Genesys workers and their supporters traveled to the Ascension headquarters in St. Louis, Mo. to protest these wage and benefit cuts. Workers also gathered at Ascension centers in seven cities across the country - Washington, D.C., Buffalo, N.Y., Tucson, Ariz, Detroit, Flint, Mich. and Kansas City, Mo. - and held vigils before the management of Ascension and its subsidiary, Genesys Health System.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reminds us that "among the elements of a just and fair workplace [in medical and health care centers] are: fair wages, adequate benefits, safe and decent working conditions…" (See A Fair and Just Workplace: Principles and Practices for Catholic Health Care.) These things are indispensible if we hope to assure quality care for patients and dignity for working people.
Please join Interfaith Worker Justice in supporting Genesys workers. You can support them by signing the petition to support workers at Ascension Health.
Peace,
Renaye Manley
Union and Congregational Outreach Director
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