Do you remember “Naked and Afraid?” It was that survival TV show on the Discovery Channel that dropped contestants in the middle of the wilderness, naked, to fend for themselves. “Naked and Afraid” is also how Wanda Wilson, CNA at Ellicott Center, described how the employees feel caring for COVID positive residents without proper PPE.
Nursing homes have been hit hard during this COVID-19 crisis. Members and residents have been getting very sick during these crazy times.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis nursing home workers found themselves battling yet another obstacle in their already stressful jobs; this time low wages, inadequate staffing, and the lack of safe staffing laws took a back seat to their newest concern – proper PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). As nursing homes across NYS started to have more and more positive COVID residents, staff were rightfully concerned about their own safety.
There is no doubt that COVID-19 has disrupted all aspects of our lives, in one way or another, and contract negotiations are not an exception to that. Many of our contracts expired on April 30 of this year. Yet organizers are not allowed in the facility, our bargaining committees cannot meet effectively due to social distancing, and we are unable to negotiate in person.
“I have to suit up in my hazmat gear every day to fix toilets, lights and make sure telephones work so residents can talk to loved ones,” said John Hill, who has worked in maintenance at Buffalo Center since 1995. “The right thing to do would be to give us some kind of recognition for the risks we are taking for our residents.”
NYC Labor Leaders Call on Governor, Mayor, and Police Commissioner to Put a Stop to Police Brutality
The systemic assault on the Black body has gone on for far too long—400 years and counting. We are
outraged and heartbroken over the police murder of George Floyd, just as we were at the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland and so many more.
After three months of facing enormous pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic, 1199SEIU healthcare workers at Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Putnam Hospital are demanding to be recognized with compensation in the form of bonuses, rewards or enhanced pay.
“As we continue to fight the global pandemic that is COVID-19, I want to take a moment to call attention to the scourge of police brutality that has targeted Black and Brown communities for generations. We all saw the footage of George Floyd’s murder. This weekend, we also saw police brutality in New York City, carried out against groups of protestors exercising their constitutional right to assemble.
“We work, but we mourn. The caregivers of 1199SEIU Florida continue to be focused on protecting the public in this historic COVID-19 health crisis, but we do so with especially heavy hearts in this time.”
WHAT: Hospital and nursing home staff, including but not limited to nursing assistants, housekeeping, dietary and food service workers, orderlies, maintenance mechanics and laboratory, pharmacy, clinical, respiratory and surgical technicians, all members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, will hold an informational picket to inform the community about short-staffing and Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home (NLHNH) administration’s refusal to address the problem in contract negotiations.