Hundreds of New Jersey nursing home caregivers and their supporters, including community activists and elected officials, rallied on August 4 and 5 in front of the facilities where the workers provide direct care, nourishment and support services to the frail and elderly. The events at Forest Hill Nursing Home in Newark, Barnegat Nursing Center in Barnegat, Alameda Center in Perth Amboy and Medicenter in Neptune Center were part of “Days of Action” by 1199SEIU caregivers in a campaign called, “Voices For Quality Care and Good Jobs--The Heart of New Jersey”.

The fired-up members are among four thousand nursing home workers at more than 30 nursing homes across the state spanning from the northernmost border to southern New Jersey, who have contract expiration dates coming up before summers’ end. They are fighting for decent wages, affordable health insurance, and a secure pension. They also want to maintain their education and training fund, which has been successful in helping workers upgrade their skills in a constantly changing work environment.

“I’ve been working more than 50 hours each week — and morale is low, but we are still dedicated to our residents,” said Vicki Morgan, a certified nursing assistant at Barnegat Nursing Center. “This is the longest in the seven years I’ve been here that we’ve come to meet at the bargaining table and cannot come even halfway to meeting in the middle. It’s like a slap in the face.”

Tara Bowers, a dietary aide at Alameda Nursing Home in Perth Amboy, agreed. “We all take pride in our work and want to give the best possible quality care,” Bowers said. “When you have to worry about whether your next check is going to pay the bills, it takes away from giving total attention to the residents, who require and deserve a hundred percent. So, we need decent wages and affordable benefits, to take care of our families at the same time we care for the residents.”

Milly Silva, the union’s Executive Vice President for New Jersey, said, “This isn’t someone else’s fight. It belongs to all of us, because everyone knows someone in a nursing home—or who will someday depend on nursing home care. We hope our negotiations will be an exemplary illustration of what can happen when union healthcare employees and management work together to come to a fair contract settlement.”

Solidarity efforts came in force from members of the New Jersey teachers’ union, Workers United, and SEIU cafeteria workers, as well as Newark Councilwoman Mildred Crump, state senator Joe Vitale, Mayor Joe Chapagne of Toms River and representative from the offices of Newark Mayor Corey Booker and Congressman Frank Pallone of Central New Jersey.