Nursing Home Caregivers Join “Unions For All” Nationwide Women's Day of Action

Nursing home caregivers, members of SEIU 1199NE, gathered at Hamden High School last weekend for a press conference to demand an end to critically short-staffed nursing home conditions. Then, they spent the day canvassing voters in Hamden. The health care jobs are publicly funded and the union members wanted to alert voters to the fact that long-term care funding and high-quality standards are established by the people who are elected to office.”

“Certified nursing assistants are exhausted. Nurses are exhausted. We are in the middle of the worst staffing crisis that I’ve ever seen in the nursing home industry in my organizing experience,” said Rob Baril, president of SEIU 1199NE.

“Workers and residents should be able to count on a full slate of staff members who can provide direct care” said Baril. “Cutting more services for residents is not an option because there’s nothing left to cut.”

“When we work short it’s hard for the staff, but it’s really hard for the residents. Because that’s their home and everything falls out of place,” said Stephanie Hill, a certified nursing assistant with 22 years of experience serving residents at Advanced Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation in New Haven.

SEIU 1199 New England’s nursing home day of action was part of a national day of action. Thousands of workers took to the streets to raise their voices and demand unions for all.

“Working people are exercising power like never before: striking, bargaining strong contracts, winning unions and demanding a seat at the table with employers in states and cities across the nation,” said the union. “This latest wave of activity by service and care workers is part of a national movement of workers rising up across industries demanding to be respected, protected, and paid living wages.”

The SEIU 1199NE release connected their demands to the November elections saying, “As the midterms approach, working people are escalating demands on elected officials to take action to unrig our economy and build a government that works for all of us. And come November, we’ll vote out those who have failed to lift up working families.”

SEIU District 1199, the New England Health Care Employees Union, represents over 25,000 caregivers in Connecticut and some 4,000 in Rhode Island.