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As negotiations sputter, union authorizes a strike at six more nursing homes in Connecticut. Walkout affecting thousands of nursing home residents could come this week.

Hartford Courant - 5/10/2021

The union representing thousands of health care workers in Connecticut authorized a strike at six additional nursing homes Monday, bringing the total number of long-term care facilities affected by the potential walkout to 39.

Nursing home workers are looking for higher wages. Nursing home owners say they are struggling financially, with fewer patients and higher costs during the pandemic.

The strike announcement came after a weekend of unsuccessful negotiations between the union, SEIU District 1199 of New England, nursing home owners. While state government has no formal role in the negotiations, top aides to Gov. Ned Lamont have been working to broker a deal.

The showdown pits an industry devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic against the low-wage employees that have had to provide care as the virus raced through their workplace.

“We’re just so tired right now,’' Tanya Beckford, a unionized certified nursing assistant who works with dementia patients and endured her own coronavirus infection last year, said during a press call organized by the Service Employees International Union Monday.

“We have exhausted all of our energy to try and get the governor to understand what this fight is about,’' she added. “We do not want a strike right now because we know were leaving our residents behind.”

Beckford said poor pay and stressful conditions have led many workers to take jobs at fast-food restaurants or driving for Uber. Unionized non-clinical nursing home employees earn between $12 to $15 an hour; non-unionized workers generally earn minimum wage. (Salaries for licensed practical nurses, registered nurses and other members of the medical staff are significantly higher.)

Negotiations are continuing despite the strike authorization vote. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, walkouts could occur as early as this week. Replacement workers would be hired if a strike occurs, but some residents would have to be moved to different nursing homes.

The Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, which represents the nursing home industry, is urging all parties to remain at the negotiating table. Matthew Barrett, the group’s president, said nursing home operators are facing a period of unprecedented financial instability, with some experiencing “negative cash flow” due to occupancy rates that, in some cases, have slipped below 70%.

“A major investment in nursing homes is needed now as a bridge to the other side of the pandemic, and even more resources are needed to address collective bargaining issues” Barrett said. “It is simply unreasonable and unrealistic to expect nursing home operators to enter into costly multi-year increased funding commitments to address collective bargaining issues without the resources needed to pay for those increased costs.”

The Lamont administration has been working to stave off a strike, which could be financially costly to the state as well as traumatic to elderly nursing home residents. The state Department of Public Health licenses skilled nursing facilities and appropriates hundreds of millions of dollars, primarily through Medicaid.

In a letter sent to both the industry and the union, the Lamont administration outlined its proposals to stabilize the industry, including a temporary 10% increase in Medicaid funding, from July 1 through March 31, 2022, for nursing homes that meet certain benchmarks.

The administration is also offering to increase its funding to the industry by $47.3 million in fiscal 2022 and $102.2 million in fiscal 2023, with all of the funds earmarked for wage increases. The letter calls the pay hikes “unprecedented,” noting that, over the last 14 years, wages have risen by an average of just 1.1% annually.

The state is also offering hazard pay, money for additional training and a “one-time pension enhancement,’' according to the letter.

The governor’s plan would be largely funded by federal COVID-19 relief funds. Several Democratic lawmakers were critical of that approach and have been advocating for tax increases on high-income people to pay for wage increases for the workers.

“The federal dollars are just for an urgent use right now and we have a chronic problem and we have to have a long-term strategy to try and address the challenges,’' Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, said during the SEIU press call.

The union also released a study completed by the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic of the Yale Law School. The report described a lack of personal protective equipment, infection control failures, staffing shortages and a general lack of oversight by state regulatory agencies.

Beckford, the union member, appealed to the governor’s office to hear her concerns. “I ask this governor one more time to please put money into his budget so we can get better wages,’' she said. “This strike is going to be on his conscience.”

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