More than 40 1199SEIU healthcare workers at Gateway Care Center in Eatontown, NJ, held an informational picket as part of their effort to settle a fair contract and protect their health and pension benefits. It’s been three years since the last contract expired. Adding insult to injury, many of these workers are among those who were hardest hit by Superstorm Sandy in late October.

On the picket line, Dorsey Church said, “Three years without a contract is too long. Now, especially after the storm, the bills are piling up. I’ve been caring for the residents here for 15 years and I like my job. But no raise for three years? I have to take care of my family too.”Church said that continuity of care for the residents is a big concern. “When workers feel insecure about their own situation, they will leave, looking to work where there is less uncertainty. Add that to the fact that this employer likes to hire per diem workers who don’t really know the residents like we do, and the residents aren’t getting the continuity of care they need.”

Linda Tappendorf has been working at Gateway for more than 18 years. “I’m not pleased that the employer appears to care so little about what we need and that we have to hold a picket and fight like this for what we deserve,” she said. “I love my residents. I should be able to take care of them and take home enough money to pay my bills – it’s not an either/or situation. ”

Eatontown Mayor Gerry Tarantola came to the picket line and offered his support to the caregivers and thanked them for the work they do.