In Historic Month, SEIU-ULTCW Organizes 347 New
Nursing Home Employees.
Five California Nursing Homes Unite Through NLRB
Elections for Better Staffing, Pay and Respect on the Job
LOS ANGELES -- From May 23 to June 20, 347 employees at five different nursing homes throughout the state voted overwhelmingly in favor of uniting with SEIU Healthcare United Long-Term Care Workers' Union.
The string of victories - including winning three elections in one week - is the biggest organizing victory in SEIU's history of unionizing nursing homes through National Labor Relations Board elections.
In coming weeks, workers in all five facilities will sit down with management to negotiate real raises and benefits, better staffing and supplies, and set up guidelines to ensure workers have a true voice on the job.
"We've got the power," said an excited Elena Hall, a CNA at Sharon Care Center, where employees voted 42-1 in favor of forming a union. "We've always known that, but now it's official. We now have a true voice in our nursing home."
Historically, nursing homes are one of the most difficult industries to organize, said ULTCW President Tyrone Freeman, calling the string of winning elections "monumental."
"From hiring union busters to threatening to fire workers, in many cases, facility management will do whatever it takes to stop workers from exercising their right to choose whether to unionize," Freeman said. "But these victories show that with the right dedication of time and resources, ULTCW can make it clear to nursing home workers that they do have the right to join a union if they so choose."
Blanca Pinedo, a ULTCW Executive Board member and housekeeper at an Inland Empire nursing home, said she has never seen so many nursing home workers win the right to a voice on the job in such a short time.
"I am filled with joy for these new members," Pinedo said. "It shows me what our state-wide union, dedicated to improving California's long-term care industry, is capable of as we grow stronger and focus our efforts on building density in this difficult-to-organize nursing home sector."
The facilities organized include Sharon Care Center, Buena Ventura Care Center and Olympia Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles; North Valley Nursing Center in Tujunga; and Sun Bridge Care Center for Paradise in Paradise, Calif.
SEIU Healthcare, United Long-Term Care Workers' Union is the largest union of long-term care workers in California, and the only local completely dedicated to improving long-term care in the state. The more than 170,000 nursing home and homecare caregivers provide vital care and services to seniors and people with disabilities.
LOS ANGELES -- From May 23 to June 20, 347 employees at five different nursing homes throughout the state voted overwhelmingly in favor of uniting with SEIU Healthcare United Long-Term Care Workers' Union.
The string of victories - including winning three elections in one week - is the biggest organizing victory in SEIU's history of unionizing nursing homes through National Labor Relations Board elections.
In coming weeks, workers in all five facilities will sit down with management to negotiate real raises and benefits, better staffing and supplies, and set up guidelines to ensure workers have a true voice on the job.
"We've got the power," said an excited Elena Hall, a CNA at Sharon Care Center, where employees voted 42-1 in favor of forming a union. "We've always known that, but now it's official. We now have a true voice in our nursing home."
Historically, nursing homes are one of the most difficult industries to organize, said ULTCW President Tyrone Freeman, calling the string of winning elections "monumental."
"From hiring union busters to threatening to fire workers, in many cases, facility management will do whatever it takes to stop workers from exercising their right to choose whether to unionize," Freeman said. "But these victories show that with the right dedication of time and resources, ULTCW can make it clear to nursing home workers that they do have the right to join a union if they so choose."
Blanca Pinedo, a ULTCW Executive Board member and housekeeper at an Inland Empire nursing home, said she has never seen so many nursing home workers win the right to a voice on the job in such a short time.
"I am filled with joy for these new members," Pinedo said. "It shows me what our state-wide union, dedicated to improving California's long-term care industry, is capable of as we grow stronger and focus our efforts on building density in this difficult-to-organize nursing home sector."
The facilities organized include Sharon Care Center, Buena Ventura Care Center and Olympia Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles; North Valley Nursing Center in Tujunga; and Sun Bridge Care Center for Paradise in Paradise, Calif.
SEIU Healthcare, United Long-Term Care Workers' Union is the largest union of long-term care workers in California, and the only local completely dedicated to improving long-term care in the state. The more than 170,000 nursing home and homecare caregivers provide vital care and services to seniors and people with disabilities.
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