Nursing Home Workers To Strike For Better Pay Amid Coronavirus

AURORA, IL — Workers at an Aurora nursing home are set to join thousands of colleagues in a regional strike May 8 to demand higher wages if the SEIU Healthcare Illinois union and the Illinois Association of Healthcare Facilities cannot negotiate a new deal before then. The Alden of Waterford facility in Aurora is one of 40 that members of the statewide union are set to picket.

The union’s contract with the IAHF is set to expire at the end of April, and workers are calling for a one-year contract that raises minimum wages to $15 for all workers and $16 for certified nursing assistants. The union is demanding a 50 percent hazard-pay bonus for working amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a news release.

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SEIU Healthcare Illinois represents about 10,000 certified nursing assistants and support-staff workers at 100 nursing homes.

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Facility operators have refused to provide improved protective gear and enhanced safety protocols for many workers on the front lines, according to the union. SEIU members have also reported facility operators are refusing to increase staffing levels and are not providing enough paid time off for workers with coronavirus-related illnesses, the release states.

As part of its negotiations with the IAHF, the SEIU is demanding an additional 80 hours of paid sick leave for coronavirus-related illnesses, as well as provisions to ensure continued health care coverage for workers who must take time off to protect themselves and their families, the release states.

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“Nursing home workers are facing a life-and-death crisis and owners have failed to address this crisis responsibly — despite workers and residents’ families and the public calling upon them to do just that,” SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley said in the release. “That is why workers have called a strike. And that is why they are ready to strike for their lives.”