Income inequality plays a role in a Bellingham minimum wage initiative that qualified for the Nov. 7 ballot, and an initiative in Los Angeles to cap hospital executive pay that will be on the ballot there.
The L.A. initiative caps hospital executive pay at $450,000, the same amount the U.S. president makes. The measure states that hospital executive pay “is often excessive, unnecessary and inconsistent with the mission of providing high-quality, affordable medical care for all.”
When PeaceHealth Vancouver cut Whatcom County’s outpatient palliative care program, they pegged it to lost revenue during COVID-19 and also claimed the service was not sustainable, yet executives continued to receive sizeable compensation increases throughout the pandemic.
Minimum wage workers in Bellingham hope to get a $1 per hour wage increase to help keep a roof over their heads. Rarely do minimum wage jobs come with health care benefits. These workers could seek a ballot initiative to cap hospital executive pay in Whatcom and Clark counties.
