Members in Appalachia win bonuses for front-line dedication

Members at Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) locations throughout eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia will finally see appreciation bonuses that acknowledge their hard work on the front lines of the pandemic. Union leadership announced the bonus payments in a Facebook statement last week.

“This is a clear example of how solidarity works,” said USW District 8 Staff Representative Roger McGinnis.

The bonuses, in the amount of $400 each, were not part of the members’ collective bargaining agreement and came after two letters sent to ARH by McGinnis and District 8 Director Billy Thompson urging them to award appreciation payments to all of their employees.

“Our members are the front line of this pandemic,” they stated in both letters. “They deserve to be treated with the same appreciation as you showed managers and non-Union employees.”

The payouts apply to all workers hired prior to March 1 and also includes any furloughed employees.

The eight USW locals include roughly 2,200 members across nine hospitals, while ARH employs roughly 6,000 workers system-wide.

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