Employees of Bethany Gardens Skilling Living Center in Rome, NY held an informational picket on August 6 to protest the lack of a new labor contract and garner community support.



Contract negotiations first began on April 1, 2014, but talks have stalled with health insurance remaining the main point of contention between the two sides. The Bethany Gardens 1199SEIU Bargaining Committee, representing the 112 predominately long-term employees of the facility, says that they tried to compromise with management by agreeing to move to a new health insurance plan that would save the employer ‎ $138,000 in the first two years of the contract and control costs for the third year, but the Bethany Gardens administration said ‘no’.



Although Bethany Gardens management has said that it is not having any problems economically that would prohibit them from paying a portion of the employees’ health insurance coverage, they ‘just don’t want to do it anymore.’ The employer’s proposal for workers to pay a larger portion of their insurance premiums would result in huge wage decreases for caregivers who already receive some of the lowest rates in the area.



“Quality care depends on healthy healthcare workers,” said Direne Askew, a CNA at Bethany Gardens, “The employer-offered health insurance plan is the only option for many of us. Without this coverage families will suffer.”



“Inequality is out of control in Central New York. It is becoming harder and harder for working people to stay here and thrive. Healthcare jobs are the jobs of the future, and we need them to be good middle-class jobs so caregivers can provide quality care to our patients and decent lives for our families. We will do whatever it takes to ensure quality healthcare, economic security, and opportunity for caregivers and our communities.”



“We are taking our message to the community, and looking for support with these negotiations,” said Certified Nursing Assistant Marybeth Schuler, “We are the people that take care of your loved ones, please support us as we fight to take care of our families too! We cannot afford to work for less!”