Nursing home workers at Plaza Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Elizabeth, members of the powerful healthcare workers union, 1199SEIU, United Healthcare East will hold an informational picket in front of the facility on Wednesday. The workers, who provide direct care and support services to the frail and elderly, have been trying to negotiate a contract with the employer, to no avail. They are asking for modest wage increases to keep up with the cost of living, having received no raises at all in the past 2 years. Their contract proposals also call for affordable health insurance and a secure pension plan.



Claudette Isaac, a certified nursing assistant at Plaza said, “We are holding this picket to let the public know that we are hard-working, underpaid employees, who are not appreciated by this employer. We should be properly compensated for the work we do. Without wages and benefits that we can depend on, caregivers have to leave for another job. It’s the employer’s responsibility to make sure that the workforce here is stable, so that our residents can receive the continuity of care they deserve.”



Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-20), Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-20) and Councilman Nelson Gonzalez will be supporting the workers on the picket line.



1199SEIU represents the largest percentage of long-term care workers in New Jersey, including certified nursing assistants, LPNs, recreational aides, maintenance workers, housekeepers and home health aides.



With over 350,000 members throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida, 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in America. Our mission is to achieve high quality, affordable healthcare for all.