Workers Plan Wage Protest At Aventura Hospital

AVENTURA, Fla. (CBSMiami.com) – Aventura Hospital and Medical Center will be the center of a protest Friday afternoon by workers who are angry at the hospital's parent company, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).

According to the hospital workers' union, employees are angry because HCA, which the union called the largest for-profit hospital corporation in the country, "chooses to reward some of its employees, like some corporate executives whose compensation increased by a whopping 200%."

At the same time, union leaders said workers at Aventura Hospital remain completely capped with zero allowable wage increases under HCA's leadership.

"We are picketing today because we want the respect and fairness that we deserve. After years of dedication, I should be able to afford to take my daughter to the doctor when she is sick, but I can't and it's just not right," said Mark Edinger, Maintenance Mechanic at Aventura Hospital in a union statement.

The planned protest will be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Aventura Hospital and Medical Center.