Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement in response to a labor coalition filing an antitrust complaint against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).

“UPMC has consolidated power in Western Pennsylvania, to the detriment of workers, patients, and entire communities,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project. “As we detailed in a report earlier this year, UPMC’s monopoly power results in lower wages, degraded working conditions, and deepening debt for front-line health care workers who are just trying to serve their patients. The complaint filed with the Department of Justice rightly focuses on this labor market power, and is a key part of the effort to finally rein in UPMC and fight back against health care consolidation in Pennsylvania.”

In January, together with Congresswoman Summer Lee, PA State Rep. Sara Innamorato, and SEIU, Economic Liberties released “Critical Condition: How UPMC’s Monopoly Power Harms Workers and Patients.” The paper is an in-depth examination of how the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UMPC) has used its power to drive down wages, working conditions, and the quality of care in Western Pennsylvania, and includes a robust policy agenda for reducing that power and reintroducing competition into the local health care market.

To learn more, see “Unions Accuse UPMC of Wielding Market Power Against Workers” in The New York Times.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.