The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the low wages, inadequate staffing, unsafe working conditions, and other challenges health care workers face in the US. Black workers and other historically disadvantaged workers continue to bear the brunt of these difficulties in the health care industry, which is slated to grow faster than any other sector in the economy in the coming decades. Evidence shows that improving conditions for health care workers could not only benefit their lives, but potentially the quality of care patients receive, too.

Could unionization at hospitals and nursing homes have a role in improving wages and working conditions for frontline staff? A cross-disciplinary team will investigate that question and aim to determine how outcomes from unionization differ for Black workers in care settings. To do so, the project team will merge a unique dataset on union presence at hospitals and nursing homes with outcome data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the American Hospital Association. They will supplement their quantitative analysis with semi-structured interviews with health care workers, managers, and union leaders to provide greater clarity and context to their findings.