On June 30, 1199ers from St. Elizabeth’s Nursing Home in Baltimore, supported by their brothers and sisters from several nearby facilities, held an information al picket to bring attention the contract crisis and threat to resident care at their facility.“We are out here fighting for fairness,” said Tonya Drummond, a GNA at St. Elizabeth’s. “Without more training, without our pensions we can’t make it. I really want to learn phlebotomy so that I can be a bigger support to the nurses and provide better care to the residents. The training fund could help me achieve my goal.”St. Elizabeth’s is owned by Catholic Charities of Baltimore, which says its values are respect, service, dignity, compassion and justice. But in ongoing contract talks with 1199SEIU Catholic Charities is not living up to those values. The organization is pushing to eliminate the longstanding pensions for St. Elizabeth’s caregivers – and for all 2,000 of its Baltimore-area staff. Management at St. Elizabeth’s also wants to stop supporting the joint labor-management Training Fund, which would make it much harder for workers to obtain the training necessary to advance their careers and provide better care for residents.At the same time that Catholic Charities has been attacking the training fund, it has been lavishing generous pay and perks on its top executives. IRS forms from 2009 show the charity reporting $662,000 in compensation for its outgoing CEO and spent $1.26 million on corporate travel. It also saw its endowment grow by 18 percent in 2009 and has real estate holdings and other property valued at $63 million. Yet, St. Elizabeth’s management has called the Training Fund “an unnecessary drain on its resources.”The St. Elizabeth’s contract expired in January, and management has unilaterally imposed pay and benefit changes on the 1199SEIU caregivers. The changes include the suspension of contributions to the Training Fund and a limited pay raise without any commitment to future increases.But St. Elizabeth’s workers are showing no signs of backing down. Nicole White, also a GNA who’s worked at St. Elizabeth’s for 10 years said the training fund is a vital benefit for St. Elizabeth’s workers. She intends to use the Training Fund to go to nursing school.“It takes a very special person to become a nurse — it’s hard work that not everyone can do,” White said. “If someone is willing to take on that challenge there should be resources to help them.”- See more at: http://www.1199seiu.org/informational_picket_at_st_elizabeth_s_in_baltimore_region#sthash.PjSKp7vK.dpuf