Last Thursday, a group of nursing home caregivers from Plaza Health Network, visited their corporate headquarters to demand a minimum wage of $15 an hour and challenge their new CEO, Elaine Bloom, to take the Minimum Wage Challenge by living on their wages for one week. Check out our FACEBOOK ALBUM and VIDEO.



After decades of loyal service, a vast majority of Plaza workers still don’t make a living wage to care for their families, while dedicating their lives to caring for our communities’ elderly and those living with disabilities.



As they negotiate their contracts with management, the workers represented by 1199SEIU Florida have asked repeatedly for a living wage of $15/hour in order to make a living and take care of their families. They are also asking for a right to transfer so they don’t lose their job in case a facility closes. The group delivered a petition with 475 signatures,



Unfortunately, several members of Plaza’s management team left the building as soon as they saw the workers gather in front of the Aventura Plaza facility. The workers were only allowed to be in the lobby and delivered the petition to one of Plaza’s representatives. Management has not responded yet to the request.



Plaza Health Network says that they value caregivers’ work. However, workers don’t feel it when they are constantly struggling to pay their bills and make ends meet for their families. They want to know how Plaza Health Network can agree to pay the federal government $17 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation for Medicaid Fraud, but cannot pay its caregivers what they deserve, so workers have decided to make a stand. Also, nearly two years ago Plaza Health Network closed one of its facilities and all the workers lost their jobs.



“Caregiving work is extremely rewarding, but the trouble is that I can’t support my own family on the low pay,” said Marie Alcindor, a certified nursing assistant with more than 22 years at Miami-based Arch Plaza nursing home. Alcindor is paid less than $11.50/hour, while she cares for our community’s seniors and those living with disabilities. “It also affects those we care for day-in and day-out. Many times I know that I’m caring for someone’s grandmother or grandfather when he or she is at the most vulnerable stage of life. For caregivers, our seniors and people with disabilities, we need change now. It can’t just be about more profits.”



According to Salaries.com, the median hourly wage for a certified nursing home assistant in Florida is $12/hour, including Plaza, which has nursing assistants that have worked at the same facility for decades. This leads to alarmingly high turnover, jeopardizes critical services and strains the long term care system as more and more Americans will rely on both nursing home and home care workers.