Victory At Consulate!

Florida’s Consulate workers walked strike lines at 19 homes to help win their contract.

Workers at Florida’s largest long-term care provider chain said “enough is enough” and won.

HISTORIC INCREASE IN MINIMUM WAGE

After months of negotiations, Consulate Health Care and caregivers represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East in Florida settled their contract with a significant victory that will increase the minimum wage from $8.05 to $10.40. The new agreement benefits over 700 workers, and will put a large percentage of the caregivers on a path to earning a living wage of $15 an hour by 2020.

“We wanted everyone in Florida to realize that health care workers are also struggling to make ends meet and fighting for a living wage; we are the people that care for Florida’s loved ones, but we aren’t able to care for our families on our wages, and we can’t take it anymore,” said Kim White from Lake Mary Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a CNA from Orlando.

Some workers will not get an increase until 2017. And winning the contract did not come without sacrifice, says committee member Rochelle Salcedo, a CNA at The Palms of Space Coast Rehabilitation Center who for more than 10 years has been making less than $15 an hour.

“Our committee decided to forgo across the board raises for one year to lift the minimum wage to $10.40 and see hundreds of our coworkers get a raise when they need it the most,” said Salcedo. “A rising tide lifts all boats, and this new starting wage sets a new standard in the state of Florida.”

Workers had been advocating for better conditions for both the residents and the employees since last year. In fact, union membership grew significantly, and workers at Heritage Park Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Fort Myers voted to unionize, becoming the 20th Consulate nursing home represented by 1199SEIU Florida. With this new agreement, hundreds of workers at three Consulate nursing homes in Lee County will have their first union contracts.

WALKING THE STRIKELINES

The turning point, say many workers, was a one-day strike by more than 1,000 Consulate workers held over April 14 and 15. It was the South’s largest-ever privatesector strike in over a decade, with chants, cowbells and bullhorns ringing out for 18 hours on strike lines at 19 Consulate homes.

“A rising tide lifts all boats, and this new starting wage sets a new standard in the state of Florida.”

— Rochelle Salcedo
CNA at The Palms of Space Coast Rehabilitation Center

Workers were energized by the national Fight For $15 and exhausted by fruitless contract negotiations and backbreaking work for poverty pay. The company owns 202 facilities across 22 states with a yearly operating budget of over $2 billion. Yet still refused to budge on proper staffing and other worker concerns or meaningful wage increases. Workers with decades of service were still making less than $12 an hour and without health insurance. Many full-time Consulate workers qualify for Medicaid and depend on other forms of public assistance to support their families.

Pansy Clayton is a CNA at Hillcrest Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Hollywood. Her story was featured in the Broward Palm Beach New Times. Clayton, who is 60 years old, makes just $11 an hour after working at Hillcrest for more than a decade. She says many workers can’t pay their mortgages on time and have difficulty paying other basic expenses on a regular basis. “When I retire at age 65, I won’t have any savings,” she told the reporter.

While Clayton spends her days making residents feel secure, she worries about her own future. So she’s doing something about it.

As the sun rose and set, workers held fast to the strike lines. The action drew unprecedented media coverage. Workers were unintimidated by Consulate’s bright red banners advertising an $18 an hour wage for replacement workers.

“We have all the experience and knowledge that new recruits don’t have,” said CNA Kim White during the action. “It’s unfortunate that Consulate doesn’t care for or value the workers who take care of the loyal employees who take care of their residents every day.”

The strike was unanimously supported at a March meeting of the Union’s Executive Council in New York City. Workers told the body how they were determined to set an example for all Florida workers in the Fight For $15.

“As we were voting for the strike workers were so fired up. The $15 is so important because then they’ll be able to afford to pay their bills, the mortgage and the medicines they’re taking. They can finally stop working three jobs and spend time with their children,” said Salcedo, who was among the strike’s leaders.

On March 21, 1199ers marched and rallied at the company’s headquarters in Maitland, demanding that bosses negotiate fairly and settle an agreement with a living wage.

“We were sick of asking for cents so now we demanded dollars,” said White.