On June 1st, healthcare workers and members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania at Langhorne Gardens, Spruce Manor, Mountain City, and Broad Mountain Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers held informational pickets to urge a swift union contract settlement that raises wages, and restores employees’ access to affordable healthcare and a joint labor-management training program that improves care for residents.
Earlier this year, Ohio-based Saber Healthcare Group purchased the homes and refused to recognize the workers’ union contracts, instead implementing 44 immediate terms and conditions including a refusal to participate in the union’s healthcare plan, wage freezes, and the elimination of seniority, vacation, and holidays.
Additionally, Saber also refused to continue participating in the union’s Training and Education Fund, a unique member benefit that allows workers to improve their ability to provide care and advance their careers.
“We worked hard to set the standards in our contract so that we can keep good caregivers who are invested in our residents,” said Denise Lytes, a Langhorne Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center employee. “Slashing benefits and freezing our wages isn’t good for morale or turnover, which means it isn’t good for our residents.”
“Saber eliminated everything that took us years to achieve, and that doesn’t just affect us, it affects our residents too,” said Porsche Elmore, a Spruce Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center employee. “Saber needs to invest in caregivers, and we’re going to continue speaking up so our residents have the trained staff and quality of care they deserve.”
Workers at Slate Belt Nursing & Rehabilitation Center were on the picket line as well. Their home was recently bought by Saber and the caregivers wanted to send the message that they will not go backwards once the new owners take over.
These facilities, like many other nursing homes across Pennsylvania, have experienced a rapid succession of owners, Studies have shown that changes in nursing home ownership can lead to problems with quality of care.
Saber Healthcare Group currently owns 111 long-term care facilities, including 19 nursing homes and personal care facilities in eastern Pennsylvania. In Fiscal Year 2016, Saber’s 13 skilled nursing facilities in Pennsylvania generated over $107 million in revenue and $1.8 million in profit. Eighty-nine percent of this revenue came from publicly-funded Medicaid and Medicare.