Perspective

[Anonymous]

I'm in Baltimore and this is one of the big stories here this week:
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140702/INFO/307029975

Long tenured, experienced, important workers, at one of the top notch leading institutions in the country, who are struggling to be paid hourly rates of $12-15. People with more than a decade of experience, some of it fairly specialized, all of it in an environment where high quality care is life or death.

To them, a person making $15/hr is profoundly lucky. Making $18-20/hr would be life-changing.

Just a different perspective on the hourly rate issues that are the subject of so much vitriol here.

[Anonymous]

Baltimore is a MUCH cheaper area to live, you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore is a MUCH cheaper area to live, you know.

That's certainly true - there's a big difference between Baltimore and DC. I was still struck by the numbers involved at a worldwide leader in healthcare. It's a pretty tough reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Baltimore and this is one of the big stories here this week:
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140702/INFO/307029975

Long tenured, experienced, important workers, at one of the top notch leading institutions in the country, who are struggling to be paid hourly rates of $12-15. People with more than a decade of experience, some of it fairly specialized, all of it in an environment where high quality care is life or death.

To them, a person making $15/hr is profoundly lucky. Making $18-20/hr would be life-changing.

Just a different perspective on the hourly rate issues that are the subject of so much vitriol here.

Not sure what perspective you're talking about...?

Baltimore is much cheaper than many places we talk about here (DC, obviously, but I also see Boston, NYC, and southern CA crop up a lot) so overall salaries/wages will be lower. That's to be expected.

No employee with 15 years of experience should be making less than $15/hr whether they are nannying, cleaning hospitals, or flipping burgers. (I actually think even THAT is too low. Once upon a time you could get a job after HS or college and could depend on regular raises and increased training and responsibilities so long as you stayed with one company - that worked out really well for a LOT of people.)

The specialized cleaning that needs to be done at a hospital is not so distinct from the specialized techniques experienced childcare providers use. There isn't a national licensing board or anything like that, but they still have to take additional training to work in an OR vs. the regular floor (much like a nanny might take extra certification classes to work with children with special needs or to employ positive discipline techniques or to advance the family's diet and nutrition). And high-quality work is essential for the health, safety, and happiness of both patients and children.

Also, just, I mean...nannying is hard work. I imagine cleaning hospitals is physically demanding as well, but if you zone out for 10 minutes while you're mopping who's going to notice? I have a newborn and a toddler and can't turn off for even one minute or risk someone getting injured. Two children accompany me into the bathroom. Two children accompany me to the trash can. Etc. I can't look at my phone, I can't let down my guard, I can't be even mildly distracted or I'm not doing my job correctly - you should expect to pay a little extra for any kind of job that requires that level of investment. I'm friendly with a lot of parents in the neighborhood and was chatting with a dad the other day who was marveling at how many hours I work; he's a very well-paid software engineer and was commenting on how he can let his mind wander for hours at work but has to be constantly "on" as soon as he gets home. NO KIDDING!