In California, a labor dispute is escalating between the Newsom administration and some of the state’s highest-paid public employees over staffing shortages in prisons and hospitals.
The union representing doctors and psychiatrists working in California correctional facilities has authorized a potential strike due to non-competitive salaries, challenging working conditions, and an overreliance on higher-paid contracted doctors.
Dr. Stuart Bussey, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, expressed concerns that the current situation makes it difficult to attract staff physicians. While doctors and psychiatrists in these facilities earn between $285,000 and $343,000 annually, temporary contracted workers receive twice as much.