Christmas Arrives Early For 200 Former Employees of Grace Manor Nursing Home

December 24, 2014

Only a few days before Santa Claus is expected, 200 former employees of Grace Manor Nursing Home in Buffalo, members of 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East learned they will be receiving the holiday gift they’ve been waiting for---a settlement check. Right before the New Year, the 1199SEIU caregivers will receive anywhere from $900.00 to $5,000.00 with an average check of about $1,500.00.



This week’s payout dates back to 2009, when after nearly a year in receivership and several years of financial difficulties, Grace Manor shuttered its doors and more than two hundred 1199 members lost their jobs. To make matters worse, the employer declared bankruptcy and shut the doors without paying vacation time-owed and only weeks after the required 90-day WARN Act notice.



1199SEIU filed suit in bankruptcy court. Even though a settlement was reached 2 years ago, where workers were to receive up to 3 weeks back pay and 2 weeks of vacation pay, procedural issues, including tax liability questions, delayed the final settlement checks. Now, more than 2 years after the court ordered settlement and nearly 6 years after Grace Manor closed, those checks have been cut.



Valerie Cason, a former Grace Manor caregiver said, “I was sad and I’m still sad that our nursing home closed. But today, I am happy that we all received the restitution we were owed. This check will help me pay for Christmas presents and get through the holiday season.”





Loretta Small, who was a C.N.A. at the nursing home for many years said, “After Grace closed I was forced to go back to school. I’m studying Business Administration at Bryant & Stratton. This settlement is going to help me continue my schooling and maintain my household until I graduate. “



The 167-bed facility was the region’s first minority owned and operated nursing home. It was put into receivership by the state Department of Health in late March 2008. Founded in 1979 by the late Rev. Houston Williams, former pastor of Grace Tabernacle Church, Grace Manor underwent a string of leadership changes and several years of losses, finishing its 2006 fiscal year $5.8 million in the red. Eventually, the facility’s board of directors voted to approve a closure plan, citing long-term structural, operational and financial issues. The plan received official approval from the Department of Health soon after.



“Grace Manor closed at a very difficult point in my life,” says former 1199 delegate and nine-year employee Jeffrey Anderson of Buffalo. “It has been a long journey but this is why I would not work anywhere without union representation. The union secured our paychecks and continued to fight for hours we worked and were not paid - even when some of us gave up hope. The closing of Grace Manor was a very sad time for both residents and staff because the unity we built can never be replaced. I’m very grateful to 1199SEIU for winning our settlement!”