FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Contact: Emily Dong | emily.dong@seiuhcpa.org | (267) 761-1502
Armstrong Nursing Home Workers Send Strike Notice for Unfair Labor Practices
After four years of deteriorating care conditions and stalled contract negotiations, union workers at Armstrong Rehab and Nursing Center unanimously voted to authorize a strike.
Kittanning, PA – Nursing home workers at Armstrong Rehab and Nursing Center unanimously voted to send a Unfair Labor Practice strike notice for owner Elie Pollak’s bargaining in bad faith and failing to provide bargaining information about wages, staffing, and agency costs.
“This is the absolute last resort. We need a contract that puts the care and safety of our residents first, but the company has not been bargaining in good faith,” said Amber Graham, a certified nursing assistant at Armstrong Rehab and Nursing Center for over a year. “The staffing situation is desperate. We need to know how much they spend on staffing to know what should be invested in full-time caregivers, supplies, equipment that works, and good care. But Pollak failed to provide this bargaining information.”
Workers are demanding Pollak invests the over $2.1 million he receives in annual state funding in retaining and recruiting caregivers that residents need. Pollak’s failure to provide staffing costs and bargaining in bad faith has stalled negotiations to improve wages and health insurance vital for building the skilled care workforce. Currently, the starting wages for some workers at Armstrong is $12.50. The health insurance provided by Pollak requires workers to travel 45 minutes to Butler County for covered emergency services and mammograms.
Workers are concerned that after Pollak bought Armstrong four years ago, the nursing home racked up over 50 citations and over $185,000 in fines for violations around unsafe staffing, accident hazards, lack of supervision, and lack of ulcer care. Pollak’s recent license application to purchase five nursing homes in western Pennsylvania was rejected by the Department of Health. Widespread closures, including more than 20 long-term care facilities filing for bankruptcy in the Pittsburgh-area, have raised concerns over transparency and accountability of nursing home operators.
“No one wants to have to strike, but we need to shine a light on the crisis happening here,” said Michelle Merryman, a housekeeper who has worked at Armstrong for 25 years. “We need to know how taxpayer dollars are spent here, because it should be spent on the residents’ quality of care and life. An elevator has been broken for at least six months and still isn’t fixed. All residents are using the single remaining elevator to get to the dining hall to eat. In all my years here, I haven’t seen this. This isn’t a business for residents – it’s their home.”
The three-day strike is set to begin on July 19th.
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SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and healthcare workers, uniting tens of thousands of professional and technical employees, direct care workers, and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home- and community-based services, and state facilities across the Commonwealth. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania members are committed to improving the lives of health care workers and ensuring quality care and healthy communities for all Pennsylvanians.
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