Company Executives Refuse to Offer Workers Affordable Health Care, Sick Time
WHEN: Friday, July 26, 3:30-6pm
WHERE: In front of Accent Care’s office
2111 White Plains Road, Bronx, NY
WHAT: Home Care workers and public officials will hold a speak-out and rally outside of Accent Care’s Bronx office to demand that the company’s executives treat their workers with respect by offering them paid sick days and affordable health insurance for themselves and their families.
Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, a strong advocate for healthcare, will be addressing the crowd. Other public officials scheduled to attend include Assembly members Carl Heastie and Mark Gjonaj and city council members Annabel Palma and Andy King.
BACKGROUND: Every day, home health aides with Accent Care work hard to provide compassionate care to the elderly and other vulnerable New Yorkers. Yet company executives refuse to treat them with compassion.
These caregivers voted to form their union three years ago, but they remain without a contract because the company refuses to negotiate fairly. Accent Care does not offer them paid sick days. When they call in sick, management pressures them to come into work. The health insurance the company offers is too expensive for many of these workers, leaving them and their families uninsured. Like all uninsured people, they are more likely than those with insurance to develop health conditions that could have been avoided: health conditions that could make it impossible for them to keep caring for the clients. By compromising the health of their workers, Accent Care could be compromising care for vulnerable New Yorkers.
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With 350,000 members in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida and Washington D.C., 1199SEIU is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in the country. The caregivers of 1199SEIU are dedicated to the dignity and well being of our residents, and are actively supporting efforts to reduce the use of anti-psychotics in nursing homes.
WHEN: Friday, July 26, 3:30-6pm
WHERE: In front of Accent Care’s office
2111 White Plains Road, Bronx, NY
WHAT: Home Care workers and public officials will hold a speak-out and rally outside of Accent Care’s Bronx office to demand that the company’s executives treat their workers with respect by offering them paid sick days and affordable health insurance for themselves and their families.
Mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, a strong advocate for healthcare, will be addressing the crowd. Other public officials scheduled to attend include Assembly members Carl Heastie and Mark Gjonaj and city council members Annabel Palma and Andy King.
BACKGROUND: Every day, home health aides with Accent Care work hard to provide compassionate care to the elderly and other vulnerable New Yorkers. Yet company executives refuse to treat them with compassion.
These caregivers voted to form their union three years ago, but they remain without a contract because the company refuses to negotiate fairly. Accent Care does not offer them paid sick days. When they call in sick, management pressures them to come into work. The health insurance the company offers is too expensive for many of these workers, leaving them and their families uninsured. Like all uninsured people, they are more likely than those with insurance to develop health conditions that could have been avoided: health conditions that could make it impossible for them to keep caring for the clients. By compromising the health of their workers, Accent Care could be compromising care for vulnerable New Yorkers.
###
With 350,000 members in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida and Washington D.C., 1199SEIU is the largest and fastest growing healthcare union in the country. The caregivers of 1199SEIU are dedicated to the dignity and well being of our residents, and are actively supporting efforts to reduce the use of anti-psychotics in nursing homes.
