Securing staff salary adjustments and raises.

Salary issues have plagued laboratories for as long as there has been a labor shortage, and the situation grows more complicated. At the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCUHS) in Richmond, Virginia, competition for laboratory staff now comes not only from area hospitals and health-care companies but also from non-health-care industries. Shorter shifts, less stress, and better hourly wages offered by fast food chains and retail stores lure away the young workers traditionally hired for entry-level laboratory positions.