Should hospital executives in California earn more than the president of the United States?
SEIU-United Health Care Workers West wants California voters to decide. The union is sponsoring a proposed ballot initiative that would cap the compensation packages of hospital executives at $450,000 a year.
Union officials say the salaries of many hospital executives are out of control. Officials argue there’s no reason why some administrators should make millions of dollars a year.
Jan Emerson-Shea, the California Hospital Association's vice president of external affairs, called the measure ludicrous.
"When have voters ever been asked to tell a private sector person what they can or cannot be paid? There’s no precedent for that," she said.
What’s more, Emerson-Shea said if the initiative were approved, hospital executives would leave California for greener pastures.
Supporters say they’ve turned in nearly 650,000 signatures to qualify the measure for the fall ballot.
The California Secretary of State's office will make its determination by early July.
