Health Unions Flex Political Muscle in Opposing New D.C. Hospital

Labor groups are pledging to use their political influence to try to scuttle Washington, D.C.'s plans to replace a failing hospital in one of its most disadvantaged neighborhoods unless the deal, at minimum, guarantees that workers keep their jobs and union contract.

The District of Columbia government has been negotiating since 2018 with operator Universal Health Services Inc., and its business partner George Washington University, over terms to replace the only hospital in the city’s Southeast quadrant. The public-private partnership would create the first new hospital in almost 20 years in the nation’s capital.

Negotiations stalled last year over ...