Members of the Service Employees International Union at Las Palmas and Del Sol medical centers in El Paso, Texas, will receive pay increases under a new, recently approved contract, the El Paso Times reported June 28.
SEIU Texas represents more than 6,000 healthcare workers and janitors in Corpus Christi, El Paso and Houston, according to its website. This includes about 1,000 non-nurse staff at the El Paso hospitals, such as personal care technicians, laboratory and equipment technicians, and maintenance, cleaning and kitchen workers.
Las Palmas and Del Sol hospitals are part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
Under the new contract, which expires in May 2026, the Las Palmas and Del Sol hospitals' hourly minimum wage increases $1 to $13.50, according to a union news release shared with Becker's.
"This contract represents a great step forward in securing better pay for healthcare workers and safe staffing to care for healthcare patients," Michelle Harvey, a Del Sol surgical technician and union steward, said in the release. "We hope the better pay and treatment in this contract will provide El Paso with the higher quality healthcare it deserves."
According to the union, the contract also includes:
- 6.4 percent compounded wage increase by 2026
- A 1.5 percent "market equity adjustment" to increase the pay of high demand jobs
- Bereavement leave expansion to include the family of a worker's spouse
- A guarantee of no increase to healthcare costs and premiums