Nursing home members on a role with contract settlements

Nursing home 1199SEIU members have settled a remarkable number of contracts recently, including two first contracts at Kindred’s Avery Manor and Sunbridge’s Meadow View. Just over the past two months, members at Golden Living, Genesis, Sunbridge and Kindred homes have settled seven contracts with improved wages, benefits and language.

In each of these negotiations, members have been able to protect benefits they’ve fought hard for over the years and to make some more economic progress during these hard economic times.

We’ve been able to protect and expand the Training Fund, and make economic gains with wage increases, bringing up the lowest pay rates and sometimes also bonuses and other economic improvements.

We’ve also won reopener language in many homes to secure a portion of the $2.8 million Quality Care incentives (see below).



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Members win a two-year fight for $2.8 million for labor-management quality care projects

Together, we’ve spent two years of lobbying for this initiative to get back some of the bed tax money. We’ve brought state politicians into the nursing homes to hear from the members on the many problems they face on the job and we’ve visited them at the State House on Advocacy Day to push them to support 1199SEIU priorities. And we’ve signed petitions and made many, many phone calls to the legislators to win this major part of our political program for nursing homes.

Now, in large part due to all of our hard work, Governor Patrick signed the final state budget in July that included an 1199-proposed provision that would give nursing homes that engage in quality care improvement projects through joint labor-management committees a total of $2.8 million in bed tax reimbursements. There will now be a process of determining what projects and which homes will qualify. This fall, we’ll be discussing this at currently operating labor-management committees and deciding what kinds of projects we want to do together with management.

The purpose of supporting this budget amendment was to secure more money for workers in addition to helping homes hit hard by the economy. But we won’t see anything if we don’t work together with management through the committees and bargain with them for more raises and possibly other economic improvements that this money can fund.



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Advanced Leader-In-Training pilot program to begin this Fall

There will be a new advanced Leader-In-Training pilot program beginning in the fall. This will be a very high-level training for delegates who’ve already successfully participated in the existing LIT program. The LIT program takes union activists and trains them in such areas as labor history, public speaking, the economy, and politics.

Because this is a pilot program – and a relatively intense training – not all applicants will be selected. The course begins on Saturday, September 24. Most training days will be reimbursed for lost time, but not all. Candidates have already been chosen.

Meanwhile, we are also recruiting for our regular LIT program. Less-experienced delegates who’ve only attended basic delegates training should consider participating in this excellent program. You’ll learn such things as understanding the basics of health care reimbursement, how to improve union strength at your home, etc. Those who’ve attend in the past have given it high marks.

- See more at: http://www.1199seiu.org/updates_from_1199seiu_massachusetts_nursing_homes_massreg#sthash.9MSrWGhC.dpuf