Union Plans Protest At Newark Hospital Clinic, Wants Change For N.J. Laundry Workers

NEWARK, NJ — SEIU locals and community allies will rally on the campus of University Hospital in Newark at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, to demand that The Stone Center, an independent clinic inside the campus, terminate its contract with industrial laundry supplier ImageFIRST.

The rally will take place at the University Hospital campus at 150 Bergen Street in Newark, organizers stated.

SEIU representatives are charging that employees of ImageFIRST “struggle to make ends meet despite working for a company that reported in 2014 that it had $45 million in sales.”

“ImageFIRST takes great pains to paint itself as a good corporate citizen outside its walls, but their workers know it’s just an illusion,” said Wilfredo Larancuent, Manager of the Laundry, Distribution and Food Service Joint Board, Workers United/SEIU, and President of SEIU New Jersey State Council. “The Stone Center should be using a contractor that provides good jobs with fair wages and benefits, instead of one that puts its image ahead of its employees who are struggling to make basic ends meet.”

According to ImageFIRST’s website, the family-owned and operated company has 36 locations and more than 600 “trained associates,” and provides more than 5,500 medical offices with healthcare laundry services weekly.

File Photo: Sam Verhaert, Flickr Commons

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