“It's not clear to us why, with a reasonable solution at hand, Baptist Nursing Home management has ignored many of our proposals and is avoiding the settlement of a fair contract.” Despite single digit temperature and icy winds, 1199SEIU members at Baptist Health Nursing & Rehabilitation Center (Baptist Nursing Home) braved the elements and held a prayer vigil in front of the nursing home in Scotia, NY on Thursday afternoon. More than twenty 1199SEIU members, and elected officials and other supporters huddled together for warmth while clergy led the group in prayer. The workers, who have been trying to negotiate their first union contract, say that below market wages, unaffordable health benefits and persistent disrespect for the nursing home workers have created a high degree of staff turnover, because caregivers simply can’t make a decent living working at Baptist. This in turn effects quality care for the residents.

“The turnover is a problem. Baptist is their home, so residents need to build trust with their caregivers,” said C.N.A. Swazette Carter who has worked at the facility for more than 20 years. “And it’s equally important for caregivers to know their residents. But, instead of taking the needed steps so workers will want to stay here for the sake of continuity of care, management chooses to use a revolving door of agency workers, and continuity of care is diminished. That’s not good for anyone.” Carter said,

“We are not asking for anything unreasonable or extraordinary. We have simply been trying to negotiate a contract that will improve working conditions, reduce turnover and in turn, improve quality and continuity of care. We need to do this and do this now and I don’t understand why management is dragging their feet in the bargaining process.”

1199SEIU Vice President Rosa Lomuscio has been at the table for the handful of bargaining sessions, along with the member negotiations committee. She said, “We offered a solution to these problems, but it has fallen on deaf ears. 1199SEIU collective bargaining agreements across the state have proven to help recruit staff and reduce high rates of turnover, resulting in better care. It's not clear to us why, with a reasonable solution at hand, Baptist Nursing Home management has ignored many of our proposals and is avoiding the settlement of a fair contract.”

Petronella “Cookie” Jones, a C.N.A. at Baptist Nursing Home for 4 years, has been working with frail and elderly nursing home residents in that role for more than 27 years. Previously, Jones lived in New Jersey where she was an 1199SEIU member. Now living in New York, Jones was part of the group of C.N.A.s, restorative aides, housekeeping, laundry, transport, and other workers who led the effort for union membership at Baptist. She said, “Why did we organize to become union members? Simply because it is heartbreaking. This is hard, grueling work and we do it with kindness and compassion. I look around at some of the younger women who are raising young children at home and I think, if I hadn’t had 1199 health benefits when I was a single mother raising my son, I don’t know how we would have gotten by.”

Carter said, “I love my job—but I have to take care of myself and my family too. The health insurance that the employer offers for families is simply unaffordable. All of us have a lot of personal responsibilities, like making sure our children don’t get sick. Paying for health benefits uses up almost every dollar we earn.”

As it is, Jones says that she has to work 16 hours every other day to just pay the bills and most of Carter’s paycheck goes to paying health insurance premiums for herself and her 19-year-old son. Both say they have little time to spend with their own families because their wages are so low that have to work as many hours as possible to get by.

1199SEIU Executive Vice President Greg Speller said that, “Management’s policies and actions are lowering the proud standards of good jobs in Schenectady, and furthermore lowering important standards of quality care that the community deserves.”

“It’s ironic,” Speller said, “that the facility mission statement says ‘we honor and cherish those who sacrifice and work hard to make Baptist Health Nursing and Rehabilitation Center one of the most unique and finest long term residential and short term rehabilitation centers in this country ’ – but the people who actually work hard to make Baptist run, the workers who actually fulfill the fundamental mission of the home, are in fact not being cherished or honored at all.”

“It’s time for Baptist Nursing Home management to live up to its mission statement, and value the work of the caregivers by settling a contract that will allow the workers to take care of their own families at the same time they care for others,” said Speller.

The workers have the support of the majority of the members of the Schenectady County Legislature, many of whom stood up for them in their effort to organize. Anthony Jasenski, chair of the legislature, was one of the supporters who faced the harsh weather with the workers on Thursday. He also walked in a letter to management, supporting the 1199SEIU members.

The letter says, “In order to maintain a high quality of care, help recruit staff and reduce high turnover rates, we believe it is critical for you to work with your employees to reach an agreement. As such, we urge you to negotiate with the 1199SEIU employees in good faith to come to a contractual agreement which provides fair wages and benefits for the 1199SEIU members at the Baptist Nursing Home.”

There are 160 members of the 1199SEIU bargaining unit at Baptist Nursing Home. More than 80% of the nursing homes in Schenectady County have collective bargaining agreements with 1199SEIU members.