FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: April Ezzell, 1199SEIU Communications | (716)449-1620

Interview Opportunity

WHO: Nursing Home Workers

WHAT: Rally

WHEN: Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 3:30pm – 4:30pm *Press Conference at 4:00pm

WHERE: Cayuga Ridge Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 1229 Trumansburg Rd, Ithaca, NY 14850

WHY: Caregivers at Cayuga Ridge have been working short-staffed and without a contract since May 1, 2021. Downstate owners, Shalom and Barry Braunstein, are using stall tactics at the bargaining table while hiring agency staff to come work for higher rates. On Tuesday, healthcare workers represented by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East, will rally to protest the lack of a fair contract and management’s concessionary proposals.

Healthcare heroes deserve a fair contract without having to give back benefits they have earned. Good wages will help to attract and retain local staff to provide the quality care our hometown residents deserve. “We need a contract that maintains our benefits and provides us with quality wages,” says Darrell Pokorney, a Licensed Practical Nurse. “Our lowest wage earners making minimum wage deserve a living wage so they can provide for their family’s basic living expenses – like food, housing, and other needs,” says Pokorney.

Caregivers at the Ithaca area nursing home work as Unit Clerks, Grounds Keepers, Licensed Practical Nurses, Registered Nurses, Social Workers, and Physical Therapy Assistants. Workers are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.