St. Lucie County - Wednesday August 7, 2024: Florida’s largest union of healthcare workers, the United Healthcare Workers East, has announced plans to picket the Palm Garden nursing home in Port St. Lucie tomorrow (Thursday August 8), as well picketing 10 other Florida nursing homes.
The workers are asking for better wages, protections and safer staffing levels to deal with what they're calling the "worsening long-term care crisis" in Florida.
“The nursing home industry in Florida takes in a windfall each year, with billions of it funded with our taxpayer dollars,” said Margarette Nerette, VP of Long-Term Care for 1199SEIU Florida. “These companies must put care first while they properly pay and protect the caregivers tending to our parents, grandparents and other elderly loved ones.”
According to a news release issued by the union, the decision to picket 11 nursing homes comes after a lack of progress in contract negotiations between workers and the Aspire Health Group and other facility owners across Florida.
The contracts between the United Healthcare Workers East and management has expire in almost 50 Florida facilities this year. The contract expirations directly impact more than 4,000 Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), dietary aides, housekeeping and other workers, as well as 10,000 patients.
“This has always been a back-breaking low-paying job, but we’ve done it because we are committed to care for others,” said CNA Antoine Mardy. “We’ve reached a true crisis level and are fighting for facilities to put care first, and to respect us, protect us, pay us and staff us.”