Thirty-three Connecticut nursing homes have received notifications that their unionized workers are ready to strike on May 14 if demands aren’t met for better wages, benefits, and staffing ratios.þþMore than 3,400 workers are employed at the affected homes, which are owned by the chains Genesis Healthcare, iCare Health Network, RegalCare, and Autumn Lake Healthcare.þþThese local nursing homes are included in the strike notice: Kimberly Hall North and Kimberly Hall South in Windsor, Fox Hill in Vernon, Touchpoints-Chestnut in East Windsor, Fresh River-Kettlebrook in East Windsor, Touchpoints-Bidwell in Manchester, Westside in Manchester, and Salmon Brook in Glastonbury.þþThirty-three Connecticut nursing homes have received notifications that their unionized workers are ready to strike on May 14 if demands aren’t met for better wages, benefits, and staffing ratios.þþMore than 3,400 workers are employed at the affected homes, which are owned by the chains Genesis Healthcare, iCare Health Network, RegalCare, and Autumn Lake Healthcare.þþThese local nursing homes are included in the strike notice: Kimberly Hall North and Kimberly Hall South in Windsor, Fox Hill in Vernon, Touchpoints-Chestnut in East Windsor, Fresh River-Kettlebrook in East Windsor, Touchpoints-Bidwell in Manchester, Westside in Manchester, and Salmon Brook in Glastonbury.þþadvertisementþA total of 51 nursing home contracts have expired in Connecticut as of March 15, and workers at the remaining facilities could potentially issue strike notices as well in the coming days.þþ“Connecticut’s long-term care system relies on poverty wages. By going on strike, we are telling nursing home operators and the state of Connecticut that we are not willing to carry the yoke of poverty any longer,” said Rob Baril, president of the union District 1199 New England, SEIU, in a statement. “It’s time for nursing home bosses and state leaders to pay these workers what they deserve.”þþThe Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, an association of 150 skilled nursing facilities and assisted-living communities, urged nursing home operators and unionized workers to remain at the bargaining table so the workers can remain on the job.þþMatthew V. Barrett, the group’s president, said his members face “unprecedented financial instability” due to the COVID-19 pandemic and occupancy rates that have dropped 15%.þþBarrett said his members have been “sounding an alarm bell” to the General Assembly and Lamont’s office for the “urgent need for a significant increase in funding” to address decades of underfunding in Medicaid payments and the increased costs from the pandemic.þþPreviously, Barrett raised concerns that his members may not be able to find replacement workers to staff their facilities if agreements are not reached on the expiring labor contracts and there are walkouts.þþHe indicated that the homes have begun strike contingency planning and have met with the Department of Public Health for assistance. Part of the plan includes “entering into non-refundable replacement worker contracts to secure staffing in the event of a labor action,” he said.þþThe union represents registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, receptionists, dietary aides, housekeeping, and laundry staff. It said staff at more nursing homes are expected to join the work stoppage as strike votes continue.þþ“Nursing home workers are more united than ever. Caring for others and for each other during COVID-19 has opened people’s eyes. We know that our work is too important to keep us in poverty,” Cambar Edwards, a CNA at Kimberly Hall North, said in a statement. “We deserve to make a living wage. We are human beings. And the people receiving care in nursing homes should be confident that staff is well paid and that there is sufficient staff to look out for them.”þþBarrett said the legislature’s Appropriations Committee has added $34.4 million to nursing homes’ budgets for the next two fiscal years, but it’s not enough.þþHe estimated hundreds of millions of dollars would be needed to fix the system.
Source: journalinquirer.com
