Hundreds of nursing home workers from a dozen locations across the Twin Cities went on strike Tuesday after failing to agree on a new contract with employers.
Jamie Gulley, president of Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, said with 1,000 workers walking out Tuesday’s strike became the largest nursing home worker strike in Minnesota history.
The union was bargaining with each nursing home individually and asking for a $25 per hour minimum wage for members. They were also calling for increased staff retention, affordable health care for workers, and retirement benefits.
“It’s a powerful day, everybody’s lifting up their voices together and it feels really awesome,” Gulley said, following a rally outside the Estates at St. Louis Park where workers were joined by members of Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha and other organizations supporting their cause.
Workers also picketed at other Twin Cities locations, including the Estates at Roseville, Cerenity Care Center, and the Villa at Bryn Mawr, and they joined an afternoon rally at the Capitol.
They are represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, and United Food and Commercial Workers 663.
Gulley said workers would be picketing in front of multiple nursing homes throughout the day.
“We worked through the pandemic and we were essential and we expect to be paid and respected for the work that we have done for this community and for the residents every single day,” Gulley said to attendees at the morning rally.
Christine Ciepielinski said she’s been a licensed practical nurse for 14 years and currently works at the Estates at St. Louis Park.
She said during the COVID-19 pandemic, workers received promises involving protective supplies and safe staffing levels, but those promises were not honored.
“The only thing we gained from that experience is the trauma,” Ciepielinski said. “Day in and day out we are here working short [staffed] and all of our staff are forced to jump in and do every single role.”
Ciepielinski said she works in the facility’s dietary, laundry and housekeeping departments on top of her nursing duties, and that’s why she’s on strike.
“We are here today to gain the respect that we deserve. We are here for safe staffing, better pay, respect and we want it today,” Ciepienski said.
Gulley said contracts for each nursing home are reached separately and more bargaining sessions are scheduled. But no formal contact has been made since the union filed their strike notice.
He also said he didn’t see the 24-hour strike being extended.
In a statement last week, ahead of the walkout, Monarch Healthcare Management CEO Marc Halpert said the company had a detailed contingency plan to avoid any disruption in care.
Monarch manages about 50 facilities in Minnesota, including the Estates at St. Louis Park and the Estates at Roseville.
Halpert also said he recognized and understood the importance of providing wages that reflect and reward the hard work and dedication of caregivers but was also prepared for a strike.
“First and foremost, we want to assure the people we serve that the safety, and the well-being of our residents remains our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of care throughout these labor negotiations,” Halpert said in the statement.
Nursing home workers scheduled their strike to coincide with a planned “Week of Action” by many unions and community organizations. It includes janitors, nursing home workers, teachers and other workers.
The plan has been in place since October when multiple unions agreed to set an early March deadline for employers to agree on new contracts.
SEIU says they have around 10,000 workers taking action this week.
While nursing home workers walked out on Tuesday, commercial janitors around the Twin Cities began their second day of a three-day strike.
The St. Paul Federation of Educators announced on Tuesday that they had a tentative contract, averting a March 14 strike.
Minneapolis trash haulers
In a separate labor action, 400 Minneapolis public workers employees, represented by Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 663 announced late Monday they had voted to approve a new contract with the city.
LIUNA Local 363 members include those who work in sewage, trash, recycling, lighting, roads, and bridges.
Among the key features of the ratified contract is a historic nearly 30% wage increase over the next three years, according to a news release from the union.
