“ It was hard work and a long night, but it was worth every step of the struggle.”

— AristaCare CNA Ruby Waller

Just before midnight on Monday, Sept. 12, after hours of lastminute negotiations, 1199SEIU members at Cedar Oaks nursing home in South Plainfield, NJ, and Norwood Terrace nursing home in Plainfield, NJ, reached a contract settlement with AristaCare Health Services. The agreement was ratified by an overwhelming majority of the membership in a vote on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

Some 300 members of 1199SEIU, including CNAs, LPNs, housekeepers and dietary and recreation aides had been in negotiations with AristaCare for nearly two years. With little movement at the bargaining table, members voted for a 24-hour strike slated to begin Sept. 14.

But a breakthrough during bargaining averted the strike a little more than a day before its scheduled start. The new agreement provides immediate and yearly wage increases for all employees, protects workers’ pensions, and secures high-quality health insurance.

“It was hard work and a long night, but it was worth every step of the struggle,” said Ruby Waller, a member of the bargaining committee who works as a certified nursing assistant at Norwood Terrace. “Our main concern was getting good medical coverage and we got it! This contract means that I can go to the doctor and not have to worry about being unable to afford it.”

Workers also had the support of many residents who joined them at several one-day pickets at AristaCare facilities. Patients described their caregivers as family who deserve fair treatment from the employers.

“They break their backs taking care of us,” said Ms. Nina Douglass who has lived at AristaCare’s Cedar Oaks nursing home for two years. “They come out in the winter time in the snow, working double shifts. Give them what they deserve, what they work for. This is what I’m asking.”

Princess Stevens, an LPN at Cedar Oaks and bargaining team member, attributed the victory to the sense of unity in the shops.

“People were ready to go on strike, and that really moved management at the table,” said Stevens. “At first they thought we were a joke, but when we all came together as a team and we got closer to the strike, we were able to get the company to settle.”