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www.HartfordBusiness.com • February 18, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 5 Middlesex Health ups minimum wage to $15 Middlesex Health isn't waiting for the state to raise its minimum hourly wage to $15. The Middletown-based health system announced plans to implement a $15-per- hour minimum wage by March 24, which it said will benefit 238 people in its roughly 3,500-person workforce. Middlesex Health, formerly known as Middlesex Hospital, operates four main facilities and several others in Middlesex County and across the state's shoreline. Middlesex Health's wage increase mirrors action taken by Hartford HealthCare (HHC) a month ago. HHC's minimum hourly rate of $15 will benefit more than 2,400 workers statewide when it takes effect March 31. Democrats in Connecticut are again pushing legislation in 2019 that would increase the state's mandated salary floor from $10.10 to $15 by 2023. The state last increased its minimum wage over a three-year period ending Jan. 2017, when it rose from $8.70 to $10.10. Hartford Courant journalists are attempting to unionize Suffering from a declining workforce in recent years, Hartford Courant employees say they took steps to form a union. Journalists of the nation's oldest continuously published newspaper said they filed a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board and requested voluntary recognition from the Courant's parent company, Tribune Publishing. More than 80 percent of the Courant's eligible workers are backing efforts to form a union known as the Hartford Courant Guild, which would be part of national newspaper union The NewsGuild-CWA. The Courant's faction, covering about 60 reporters, editors and photographers, would become a unit under the union's local chapter, The Providence Newspaper Guild. In November, 12 veteran Courant newsroom staffers took a voluntary buyout offered to Tribune employees as the media company tries to shave costs ahead of a possible sale. CT's Whitcraft adds 3D printer to fold Northeastern Connecticut aeroparts maker The Whitcraft Group has acquired a New Hampshire company's three- dimensional, metal printing technology. Eastford-based Whitcraft paid an unspecified sum for closely held Form 3D Solutions of Dover, N.H., Whitcraft CEO Doug Folsom said. Form 3D founder Joe Gabriel and an unspecified number of his staffers joined Whitcraft through the merger. Form 3D specializes in additive manufacturing, technology used to form three-dimensional, precision titanium and nickel-alloy parts. The Whitcraft Group's other divisions include Whitcraft LLC; Connecticut Tool & Manufacturing; Berkshire Manufactured Products; and AcuCut. Report: CT health spending above average Per-person expenditures on medical and pharmacy claims in Connecticut rose to $6,232 in 2017, up 17 percent over a five-year period, according to the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). Connecticut's 2017 spending was higher than the national average of $5,641, which was up 16.7 percent since 2013, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit said. The data include 40 million claims, which HCCI collected from four major health insurers — Aetna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare. The data only include people who receive health insurance through their employer, whether through a group plan or an administrative-services-only plan. It doesn't include government-provided insurance. The spending figures include payments by insurers as well as out-of-pocket payments by patients. Across the country, HCCI said higher prices — not patients using more services (known as "utilization") — drove the spending increases. Looking to create a custom publication? Let us take care of it for you. ADVERTISING@ HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM/ CUSTOMPUBLISHING | 860.236.9998 Whether it's the celebration of a major anniversary or the opening of a new headquarters, Hartford Business Journal's Custom Publishing Division can help you create a custom magazine for your business. Our division's top fl ight team of writers and designers can help you tell your story – and make your business look great! Based on our unique publishing model, it's surprisingly affordable. ADVERTISING@ CALL TODAY! F u l ly A p p r ov e d S i t e ★ D Approved for 267,000 SF Manufacturing & light Assembly facility D up to 65-acres D day Hill Corridor location (exit 38 off i-91) D easy access to Bradley international Airport, i-91, i-84 & i-90 D For sale or build-to-suit 11 Goodwin drive Windsor, Ct 860-286-7660 www.griffinindustrial.com Find out why Amazon, Walgreens, dollar tree, domino's, eaton, Westinghouse, Fedex, pepsi, upS and tire rack all chose to locate within central Connecticut's premier industrial market Some Middlesex Hospital employees will be getting a pay raise as the healthcare provider increases its minimum wage. PHOTO | HBJ FILE